Source: February 3, 2009 report from BBC:
Teacher in US accused of genocide
A college near the US city of Baltimore has suspended a Rwandan professor over accusations he participated in the African country's genocide.
Leopold Munyakazi had been working at Goucher College near Baltimore under a programme for academics whose lives are threatened at home.
He has denied any involvement in Rwanda's genocide.
Some 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by Hutu militias in just 100 days in 1994.
Mr Munyakazi, a Hutu, told the Associated Press news agency that he had been persecuted by Rwanda's government.
He said he had been held without trial in Rwanda from 1994 to 1999 on accusations of genocide.
"I'm not hiding; I was never involved in genocide," he said.
Sanford Ungar, president of Goucher College, said in a letter to students and faculty that he became aware of charges against Mr Munyakazi when a journalist and a Rwandan prosecutor came to the college in December.
They told him of witnesses testimonies that Mr Munyakazi, 59, had "participated directly" in the genocide.
Charges had been prepared in 2006 after Mr Munyakazi had given a "controversial talk" in the US questioning the Rwandan government's version of the genocide, Mr Ungar said.
"Dr Munyakazi vehemently denies any involvement in committing genocide, and in fact has presented evidence that he assisted numerous Tutsis in fleeing Hutu killers," the letter said.
Mr Ungar said the Rwandan, who started teaching French at the college in September, would be suspended from his job pending further investigation.
An official at Rwanda's embassy in Washington said Rwanda had asked for Mr Munyakazi and five others to be returned to the country.
13 comments:
First let Kagame and his military command stand trial for crimes against humanity and genocide committed both in Rwanda and Congo.
The likes of Munyakazi will all be hunted and brought to justice, however much they deny a genocide. who doesnt know there was a gencide in Rwanda anyway!
Its illogocal that 'Colored opinions" would defend munyakazi against trial coz what he calls kagame and his military crimes havent bn tried! Justice doesnt work that way!
Yes, I agree that the likes of Munyakazi will all be hunted and brought to justice. No matter how many years or decades it takes to find them. Which is why I have published the BBC's news report and photo to help spread the word for victims whose voices will never be heard.
The accusations against Munyakazi are worthless while leveled by the criminal regime of Paul Kagame, which has committed crimes against humanity and genocidal acts in Congo. 40 senior officers of that regime are accused and the evidence is very solid. Munyakazi has been inprisoned without trial in Rwanda for five years and was released in 1999, so why did Rwanda suddenly accuse him in 2006? Because he told truths about the criminals that are in power in Kigali today. Criminals that have had the full support of the US administration while butchering innocent civilians inside the Congo. Congratulations USA I would say!
Leopold Munyakazi is being persecuted because he is speaking the truth about the Kagame regime in a the U.S., where one is allowed to speak the truth. How can America possibly send this innocent man back to sure imprisonment or even death after all he has been through. Also - his WIFE is a Tutsi and he played a role in hiding a number of Tutsi's during the genocide. There are too many Americans who have a very naive view of what happened in Rwanda and think that Kagame is a hero. Kagame himself, should stand trial for his acts against humanity in the Congo and Rwanda. Wake up, AMERICA!!!
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Leopold MUNYAKAZI is a genuine patriot and a man with integrity. What he is saying is 200% TRUE.
Kagame himself, should stand trial for his acts against humanity first in Uganda, secondly in Rwanda, third in Burundi, fourth in Kenya and fith in Cameroon.
Major Kagame who become Major General after shooting innocent civilian in an open market of Kivuye,Byumba, grow up stealing car in Nairobi, killing Ugandan politicians, murdering Rwandans and a Burundian president,and executing a genocide in Congo.
Kagame has been using children in army, killing women,using terrorist organizaations led by his step brother Laurent Nkunda in Congo.
Leopold MUNYAKAZI should be the President of Rwanda instead of the illiterate Paul KAGAME.
I urge everyone to support Dr. and Professor Leopold MUNYAZI, a Hero.
Alphone Africa
Canada
Munyakazi is being persecuted/hounded like anyone else who presents an opinion different from Kagame's regime. The fact is that the real war criminals are in the government in Rwanda. There is an indictiment by Spain for 40 high ranking Rwandan officials.
Sooner or later, Kagame and his crew will face justice like Charles Taylor and his son and possibly now the current Liberian president, and El Bashir. As said in earlier posts, he has been on a killing spree spanning at least 3 decades starting in the 80's until now. He executes people, amputates, rapes, sodomizes, and committs mass murders. Munyakazi is getting off easy as he at least has his life for the time being and all his body parts. His role in the Rwandan Genocide/Tutsi genocide as well as the genocide of the Congolese people will come back to hunt him and his likes. As for Munyakazi, he is not the first or last to be persecuted. I am not surprised at the BBC article as they have in the past helped Kagame hound his critics in the UK.
Let's hope the BBC's involvement in this doesn't result in a tragic case such as the one on to Catch a Predator where a fat lawsuit was won against them. BBC are setting themselves up for this type of lawsuit as well.
Ingrid dear,
I hope you trully don't believe that Munyakazi did this. See, you mean well in what you are doing, but you are what is wrong with western meddlers into African affairs. You try to tell us where the holes are in our walls without noticing that we are missing the door itself. You are focusing on the wrong thing, my dear, and while you are at it, please let us Africans figure out our own problems. This guy is being framed in the classic Kagame regime tactic of attacking its opposition. How do I know??? It has affected me, that's how I know.
Just post and look for the truth, only comment on it after you have taken a long look at the evidence...and, oh, another thing...what are the likes of Munyakazi like? I would love to know.
African Politics dear,
I note from your anonymously authored blog that you appear to reside in Atlanta, Georgia, USA and, going by the copy of one of your blog post here below, you have contempt for "foreigners". I guess you are getting enough food in America.
- - -
From African Politics blog
FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2009
Kenya appeals for $406M in urgent food aid: The begging continues
We continue to be beggars hoping for foreigners to throw us a bone so we don't starve. Our leaders drive the latest expensive cars and have enough to eat while the little person starves. Kenya now joins countries like Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and others that have to beg for food. Pathetic. We can solve these problems ourselves by addressing issues such as irrigation, soil erosion, and planting vegetation that fight the spread of the deserts. We can do this.
I don't have anymore contempt for foreigners than I do for some of my own people. Also, because I reside in the US does not mean that I have enough to eat. The article about Kenya is important because they are using this so-called foreign aid to enrich themselves (the leaders) while the common people die of hunger. There is a new book about John Kithongo by Michela Wrong "It's Our Turn to Eat" outlines the corruption that I'm talking about.
These people are driving around in mercedeses while begging for more aid. Why can't they follow the actions of such people as Thomas Sankara? As prime minister he would go to ministerial meetings on a bicycle. Did that make him any less of a minister? In four years, he turned his country from a beggar to a self-sufficient food producer. You want to know what imperialism is? He told people to look at their plates and they will see imperialism right there in the food they eat. When you beg you are at the mercy of the donor, you are beneath the donor. That is what is unacceptable.
Another unacceptable thing, for me, is when an outsider speaks out loud about something when they clearly have no full grasp of what's going on. If you read my other posts, you will realize that my mother is foreign, white. How can I have contempt for my own self. I am half foreign. And, oh, I do go to sleep hungry sometimes, especially when I use whatever little money I work for to help some of our refugee families in the area.
First of, as a Rwandan I wanna thank everyone for sparing their time for this case. What happened in Rwanda was very unfortune and my prayers go to those who survived this tragic event. It is both sad and ashame how the criminal regime of Kagame has commercialized this tragedy to 1) enrich itself and 2) to cover up its massive killings, war crimes and injustice against the hutu population. RPF crimes are reported and documented by different and unbiased authors and researchers and arrest warrants against RPF officials (including Kagame) exist today and should be enforced by the US (if they really intend to help Rwandans). Unfortunately the U.S supports Kagame while they are aware of his[Kagame's] killings and war crimes not only in Rwanda but also DRC (Congo). NBC should never work with a terrorist group;it should rather investigate and unearth this group's crimes. The government claims it has evidence against Munyakazi. Let me tell you; in Rwanda of today it suffices to be a HUTU and to have been in the country in 1994. The tape they claim to have is nothing but a fabrication, THIS IS IMPORTANT, where the government forces people to make false claims against innocent people it wants to get rid off. To back up my claim, I'd like to remind you that MANY WITNESSES in genocide trials by the ICTR (International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) have chaned their testimonies after REVEALING how they were forced by the Rwandan government to make FALSE ACCUSATIONS (Some of them have actually been indicted and charged for giving false testimonies). THIS IS THE SITUATION MANY HUTUS ARE LIVING UNDER: Thousands have been wrongly accused and are now in jail for the crimes they didn't commit!!. If the US really wants to help Rwanda and avoid what happened in 94 to happen again, it should change the regime in Rwanda otherwise what the minority Tutsi (15%) regime is doing to the majority hutus (85%) will have yet another unprecedented consequences.
I have no doubt that Munyakazi is being targeted for daring to expose the crimes of RPF.
Hope somebody listens and acts before it is too late.
He taught me french my sophomore year of high school. I can't imagine him killing anyone or helping to kill anyone. I also saw him recently at a Missionary Conference.
If he really did participate in anything but helping people escape, I'll be shocked.
America, give this innocent man the benefit of the doubt and do your own investigation. You will find him 100% innocent. Dr. Munyakazi has already been jailed for years for just being who he is an open-minded scholar who happened to be a Hutu. This genocide agains the Hutus must end. Kagame has lied the international community especially the US and the UK, his main supporters. He should know that you can't lie all the people all the time. He should face justice for all his crimes not just against Spaniards and French but also against fellow Rwandans, Congolese, Croatians and many more.
That time will come.
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