This case summary is part of a collection of summaries describing the cases before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). See the Online Resource Hub pages on the ICTR and International Criminal Law, and table of ICTR case summaries for additional information.
Kayishema & Ruzindana (ICTR-95-1)
Trial Judgment: 21 May 1999; Appeal Judgment: 1 June 2001
Clément Kayishema, the former Prefect (governor) of Kibuye, and Obed Ruzindana, a businessman, stood trial for their alleged involvement in four separate massacres of Hutus in Kibuye Prefecture of Rwanda in 1994. The prosecution charged Kayishema and Ruzindana with direct responsibility and Kayishema of superior responsibility for genocide; crimes against humanity for acts of extermination, murder, and other inhumane acts; and war crimes for acts of violence to life.
In 1999, the ICTR Trial Chamber convicted Kayishema and Ruzindana of genocide, but acquitted the defendants on the charges of crimes against humanity, on the grounds that the charges for genocide and crimes against humanity constituted concurrent charges, and acquitted the defendants of war crimes charge. In 2001, the ICTR Appeals Chamber affirmed the Trial Chamber’s judgment on all counts, for which Kayishema received a sentence of life imprisonment and Ruzindana received a sentence of imprisonment for 25 years.