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.
Transferred to National Courts: 26 March 2012
Still a fugitive as of 2018, Charles Sikubwabo, the former Bourgmestre (mayor) of the Gishyita Commune in the Kibuye Prefecture and formerly Chief Adjutant in the Rwandan Armed Forces, was indicted for allegedly instigating massacres at the church of Mubuga and in the Bisesero area by coordinating to bring members of the Gendarmerie nationale, the communal police, the Interahamwe militia, and armed civilians to kill Tutsis in the Mubuga and Bisesero areas. The prosecution charged Sikubwabo with direct responsibility for genocide, complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity for acts of violence to life.
Sikubwabo remained at large as the ICTR was ending its work, and in 2012, the ICTR granted the prosecution’s request to refer the case to the national courts in Rwanda, where he would face trial if captured.