Justin Mugenzi (born 1939) is a Rwandan former politician who served as chairman of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and Minister of Commerce during the 1994

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 ...

. He was born in Rukara Commune, Kibungo Province. In 2011 he was convicted, along with

Prosper Mugiraneza Prosper Mugiraneza is a former minister of civil service in Rwanda.Rwandan g ...

, of conspiracy to commit genocide and

incitement to genocide Incitement to genocide is a crime under international law which prohibits inciting (encouraging) the commission of genocide. An extreme form of hate speech, incitement to genocide is considered an inchoate offense and is theoretically subject ...

by the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...

(ICTR). The convictions were reversed on

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 ...

Early life and career

Mugenzi was born in 1939 in the Rukara commune of the former Kibungo Province in Rwanda. He was chairman of the Liberal Party and commerce minister of the interim government during the Rwandan genocide.

Arrest and ICTR trial

Mugenzi was arrested in

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on 6 April 1999 and convicted in 2011 for his role in

Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana Jean-Baptiste Habyalimana (also spelled Habyarimana) (14 March 1950 – 1994) was a Rwandan academic and politician who served as the Prefect of Butare and was killed during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. He was the only Tutsi prefect at the time ...

's removal as

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

of Butare province. The violence in Butare intensified under the leadership of Habyalima's successor Sylvain Nsabimana. At Nsabimana's installation ceremony, the President of the interim government

Théodore Sindikubwabo Théodore Sindikubwabo (1928 – March 1998) was the interim President of Rwanda during the genocide against Tutsis, from 9 April to 19 July 1994. Prior to that, he was President of the Rwandan legislature National Development Council from 1988 ...

reportedly gave a speech calling for the murder of Tutsis. In 2011 he was convicted, along with

Prosper Mugiraneza Prosper Mugiraneza is a former minister of civil service in Rwanda.Rwandan g ...

, of "conspiracy to commit genocide" and "public incitement to commit genocide" by the

(ICTR).

Acquittal on appeal

Mugenzi's case was among several successful appeals in the ICTR and

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal ...

after the "specific direction" standard was introduced under Meron's leadership. The Trial Chamber had determined that Mugenzi had acted with

genocidal intent Genocidal intent is the ''mens rea'' for the crime of genocide. "Intent to destroy" is one of the elements of the crime of genocide according to the 1948 Genocide Convention. There are some analytic differences between the concept of intent under n ...

when he decided to "undercut the real and symbolic resistance abyalimanaposed to the killing of Tutsi civilians inhabiting or seeking refuge in Butare". The Appeals Chamber ruled that the Trial Chamber's ''mens rea'' analysis was an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

and reversed the conviction for "conspiracy to commit genocide". The Trial Chamber also held that Mugenzi was guilty of "direct and public incitement to commit genocide" for his participation at Nsabimana's installation ceremony. Under the Trial Chamber's ''

mens rea In criminal law, (; Law Latin for "guilty mind") is the mental element of a person's intention to commit a crime; or knowledge that one's action (or lack of action) would cause a crime to be committed. It is considered a necessary element ...

'' analysis Mugenzi shared a "common criminal purpose" and thus possessed the same genocidal intent as interim President Sindikubwabo. The Appeals Chamber found that a reasonable

trier of fact A trier of fact or finder of fact is a person or group who determines which facts are available in a legal proceeding (usually a trial) and how relevant they are to deciding its outcome. To determine a fact is to decide, from the evidence prese ...

could not rule out the possibility that Mugenzi could have attended the ceremony out of social obligation and reversed the conviction for "direct and public incitement to commit genocide". After his

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 ...

Mugenzi continued living in a safe house in

Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. He submitted several unsuccessful visa applications seeking to join his family in

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mugenzi, Justin People of the Rwandan genocide People acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 1939 births People from Kayonza District Rwandan people convicted of genocide Living people Liberal Party (Rwanda) politicians