Man bags life jail in Netherlands over Rwanda genocide

Photo : A memorial in Rwanda containing names of victims of the genocide

A court in the Netherlands has sentenced a Dutch-Rwandan man to life for his involvement in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

The suspect whom.the court named N, was a man who was held in high regard and must have been aware of his role and the influence he had as a local administrator,” the court explained, adding that he “committed multiple severe crimes”.

At a football stadium, N instructed Hutus not to let any of the Tutsis escape. Trapped inside, they were pelted with stones, shot at and had hand grenades thrown at them.

Any who had survived, were killed with clubs and machetes, the court said.

Prior to the stadium massacre, he had watched on as people looted houses and set them on fire.

“Only a lifelong prison sentence does justice to the immense suffering that has been inflicted on the victims and the bereaved families,” the court said.

As part of the Dutch investigation opened in 2020, more than 30 witnesses were interviewed. N was subsequently arrested in 2024.

N denied all the charges, alleging that he was a victim who had lost family in “those horrific events”.

“The case has torn his scars open again. He is a broken man,” his lawyers were quoted as saying . They had moved to seek acquittals on all accounts. N was acquitted of the incitement to genocide.

His defence team said they will “almost certainly appeal the charges.