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The Prosecutor v. Ildephonse Hategekimana, Case No. ICTR-00-55B-T prison, that the name of the Commander of Ngoma Camp was Ildephonse Hategekimana. 804 While entering his plea of guilty, Michel Murigande had acknowledged the involvement of Hategekimana and soldiers of Ngoma Camp in the attack. 805 For his part, Sezirahiga lodged a complaint against the Commander of Ngoma Camp, but the latter, like the other soldiers being sought for prosecution, could not be found. 806 The Chamber accepts that he knew Hategekimana before the events as Commander of Ngoma Camp and, even if he did not know his name, he usually saw him in the neighbourhood. 807 456. The Chamber notes that Sezirahiga indicated that Hategekimana had left his house at one point in time, leaving behind soldiers, who continued to commit crimes. He could have therefore further implicated Hategekimana in the crimes he has described. But he did not do so. Consequently, the Chamber does not doubt Sezirahiga’s sincerity and considers that his testimony is direct, reliable and coherent evidence. 457. The Defence contests the credibility of Sezirahiga’s testimony regarding the presence of Hategekimana who is said to have led a second group of soldiers to the scene. 808 To support this assertion, the Defence points out that, in his statement of 1 October 1998, the witness had talked about the presence of two Second Lieutenants among the group of assailants who came to attack his family. In that statement, Sezirahiga did not expressly mention the presence of the Accused at the scene of the crime. The Chamber notes that the witness stated as follows: “The group of assailants was led by a second lieutenant whom I knew long before at Ngoma Camp; I do not know his name but he was short and a bit light in complexion. The group also included another Second Lieutenant who was fat and I later learnt from Michel Murigande that he hailed from Ruhengeri.” The Chamber notes that Sezirahiga saw a Second Lieutenant whom he knew before, which is consistent with his court testimony. 809 Further, the physical description of a Second Lieutenant who was “short and a bit light in complexion” fits Hategekimana. 810 The witness stated clearly that the link was “Ngoma Camp.” The Chamber points out that there were two Lieutenants in charge of Ngoma 804 T. 6 April 2009 pp. 4, 47. The Defence argued that “[Sadiki Sezirahiga was] incoherent and lack [ed] credibility, by claiming in the same circumstances at one point that he saw Lt. Hategekimana at the crime scene where he purportedly led a second group of attackers to the witness’ home and at another point that he was only informed of the presence of Lt. Hategekimana at the scene on that fateful day by Michel Murigande when he was in prison”; Defence Closing Brief para. 462. The Chamber however notes that this is a misconstruction of the witness’ testimony. The witness said that he only got to know the name in prison. 805 T. 6 April 2009 pp. 63, 64: “I simply talked about the commander. It is only recently that I learned his name, that is, when Michel Murigande confessed and pleaded guilty. That is when he mentioned his name [Hategekimana].” 806 T. 6 April 2009 pp. 48, 63. 807 T. 2 April 2009 p. 72: “I did not visit him, but I used to see him. So I knew him.” 808 T. 6 April 2009 pp. 38, 46. 809 T. 2 April 2009 p. 72. 810 T. 16 March 2009 p. 52. Witness QCL: “At the time, that is in 1994, Bikomago was a young man who was handsome, strong, and he always wore his military attire, except when he was taking his exercises. He always wore military camouflage. He wasn't tall, he had a big chest, and he was not very dark. I believe he took care of his skin because he was handsome.” Witness Father Jérôme: “He was dark in complexion, and he had an average height. I believe he must have been about 1 metre 70 or 1 metre 75. He was a young, strong man. He appeared to be younger than myself. He could have been my junior brother. At the time, in 1994, I was 30-and-a-half years, and I believe he must have been around 28. He could not look people in their eyes when they talked to him. He would often look to the ground.” (T. 19 March 2009 p. 10); Witness QDC: “I was able to see him from close quarters. He was of medium height, quite stocky.” (T. 23 March 2009 pp. 68, 69); Witness BUR: “Hategekimana has a dark complexion. He is of average height. He has red eyes. And he has a full face.” (T. 7 April 2009 p. 9); Witness QCQ: “He was of average height with a complexion that was neither very light nor very dark.” (T. 8 April 2009 p. 78); Witness BYO; “He was a man with a black—a dark complexion in military uniform, and he was wearing a coat. I wouldn't know whether it was a civilian or military coat. He was a man aged approximately 38 years. And he was somewhat stockily built.” (T. 4 May 2009 p. 27). Judgement and Sentence 112 of 201 6 December 2010
The Prosecutor v. Ildephonse Hategekimana, Case No. ICTR-00-55B-T Camp during the events: Commander Hategekimana and his deputy, Niyonteze. 811 The Chamber concludes from Sezirahiga’s account that the person concerned can only be Hategekimana. The Chamber considers that the witness’s statement of 1 October 1998 is consistent with his court testimony regarding the presence of Hategekimana during the attack against his family. Consequently, the Chamber dismisses Defence allegations on this point. 458. After assessing the totality of the evidence, the Chamber is of the view that Sezirahiga recognized the Commander of Ngoma Camp whose name was later confirmed to him as being Ildephonse Hategekimana. The Chamber therefore finds that it was indeed Hategekimana who was leading the soldiers of Ngoma Camp in the attack against Sezirahiga’s family. Rape of Nura 459. Sezirahiga is the only eyewitness to the rape of his daughter Nura. From a distance of four metres, he saw Michel Murigande “deliver” his daughter to a soldier from Ngoma Camp and Interahamwe. The soldier raped her while Murigande was immobilizing her. Thereafter, she was killed. After assessing the evidence, the Chamber cannot determine exactly whether Hategekimana was at Sezirahiga’s residence when Nura was being raped. According to the witness, Hategekimana dropped off Michel Murigande and a reinforcement of soldiers at the scene in the night of 23 April and then left, as the attackers remained and continued “to kill people together.” 812 The Chamber notes that Witness BTN also testified about the presence of Murigande among the assailants at Sezirahiga’s home. 460. The Defence contends that “nothing identifies the rapist in the testimony of [Sadiki Sezirahiga]. In the circumstances, there is no basis for linking that unknown soldier, if he ever existed, to Ngoma Camp.” 813 The Chamber however notes that it found that Ngoma Camp soldiers were present during the attack, as was Hategekimana. Consequently, the only possible deduction is that it is a soldier from Ngoma Camp who raped Nura. 461. On cross-examination, the Defence raised the contradiction between Sezirahiga’s court testimony and his prior statement of 2 November 1997. 814 In that statement, Sezirahiga said that Michel Murigande had raped his daughter; while during the trial, he said that Murigande had delivered his daughter to soldiers and Interahamwe. And then one of the soldiers had raped her while Michel Murigande purportedly immobilized her. The witness explained the discrepancy between the two versions by saying that, whether it was Murigande or the soldier, they were together and Michel Murigande had immobilized his daughter. The Chamber finds that there is no major discrepancy between the two versions. And since testimony under oath has more probative value than prior statements, the Chamber finds that Nura was raped by a soldier. 462. Although QCO witnessed the murder of Sezirahiga’s children, she did not mention that she saw Nura being raped. Taking into account the place where QCO was and the number of soldiers and Interahamwe surrounding the victims, the Chamber is of the view that she might not have witnessed the rape of Nura. However, the fact that she did not witness the rape of Nura does not negatively affect the credibility and reliability of Sezirahiga’s direct testimony. 811 The Chamber notes that, in April 1994, the chain of command of the Ngoma Military Camp was as follows: Lieutenant Ildephonse Hategekimana was the Commander of Ngoma Military Camp, Second Lieutenant Fabien Niyonteze was the Deputy Commander, and Staff Sergeant Cacana was the non-commissioned officer. 812 T. 2 April 2009 p. 81. 813 Defence Closing Brief para. 462. 814 T. 6 April 2009 pp. 11, 59. Judgement and Sentence 113 of 201 6 December 2010
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International Criminal Tribunal for
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The Prosecutor v. Ildephonse Hatege
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1.1.2 General Challenges to the Ind
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DISSENTING OPINION OF JUDGE MASANCH
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ANNEX B: CITED MATERIALS AND DEFINE
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DEFINED TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS CDR
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