André Rwamakuba (b. 1950) was the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education in the interim government during the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...

in 1994. He was born in Nduba, Gikomero commune in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

province and is a medical doctor who has studied at Butare University, and in

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He was arrested on 21 October 1998 in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and indicted for

complicity in genocide Complicity in genocide is illegal under international law both for individuals, as part of international criminal law, and state parties to the Genocide Convention. The latter was first held in the Bosnian genocide case (2007) in which the Internati ...

and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

including extermination and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. He was acquitted of all charges on 20 September 2006 by the ICTR.

Early life and career

Rwamakuba was born in 1950 in the Gikomero commune, Kigali, Rwanda. He studied to become a doctor at the Butare University in Rwanda and also in Zaire (now

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

) and Belgium. Rwamakuba was a member of the ''

Mouvement démocratique républicain The Republican Democratic Movement (french: Mouvement démocratique républicain, MDR) was a political party in Rwanda. History The party was established in 1991,

'' (MDR) party. He worked as a public health specialist and was appointed Director of the Kigali Health Region in 1992. After Rwandan President

Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (, ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who served as the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until 1994. He was nicknamed ''Kinani'', a Kinyarwanda word meaning "invincible". An ethn ...

was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

in 1994, Rwamakuba became the interim government's Minister of Primary and Secondary Education.''Prosecutor v André Rwamakuba'', Case No. ICTR-98-44C-T, (September 20, 2006)

Arrest and acquittal

He was arrested on 21 October 1998 in

and indicted for complicity in

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

and

including extermination and

. He was acquitted of all charges on 20 September 2006 by the ICTR. The Prosecution did not

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

the

acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

Compensation

Several months later, on 31 January 2007, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) found that Rwamakuba's right to legal assistance under Article 20(4)(d) of the ICTR Statute had been breached in the first months of detention.''Decision on appropriate remedy'', Case no ICTR-98-44C-T, ICL 81 (ICTR 2007) The ICTR ordered that Rwamakuba be compensated in the amount of $2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rwamakuba, André People of the Rwandan genocide People acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda People from Gasabo District 1950 births Living people