afrol News, 9 April - Pasteur Bizimungu, the ex-President of Rwanda, was allowed to walk a free man from prison last week after he was pardoned by President Paul Kagame.

Rwandan officials said the release, which came a day before the 13th anniversary of the start of the 100-day genocide, was done in good faith. It is expected to foster reconciliation in a society that has gone through the pains of genocide.

While stepping out of the prison, the delighted-looking ex-leader thanked President Kagame for pardoning him. He asked the media not to bombard him with questions because he was too tired and engulfed with emotion to the extent that he would not be able to answer their questions.

Mr Bizimungu attained Presidency after the 1994 Rwanda genocide, which saw the slaughtering of over 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The ex-leader resigned from office in 2000 after he had fallen out with Mr Kagame who later became the President. He had therefore turned himself into an arch critic of President Kagame’s government.

Mr Bizimungu, who was found guilty of inciting ethnic tension, embezzlement and forming a militia, was sentenced to 15 years in jail. He had already spent three years of the sentence. His attorney’s efforts to appeal against the sentence at the Supreme Court last year met the rock.

Meanwhile, President Kagame has warned the international community to be wary of meddling into his country’s internal affairs. Over the years, Rwanda and its former colonial master, France, had been tussling over the Rwandan genocide.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Related pages and feature

Current afrol News Top Stories