Rwandan Genocide Tribunals in Arusha

For the first time, last Monday, I had a chance to attend the Rwandan Genocide Tribunals which are taking place at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC). The Tribunals have been going on for sometime now, under the auspices of the United Nations. The day I went it was a witness for the defense who was being cross-examined by the prosecution. The lawyers and the panel of judges seemed to be mainly speaking French, which was very interesting to listen to. The witness was speaking a language which to me sounded like a blend of French and Kiswahili, which I suppose is a local dialect to Rwanda. The witness was behind a curtain and every time they had to speak about another person, they court would go in camera and the public would have to leave. We wore headsets and could listen to the proceedings in either English, French or Kiswahili.

The proceedings were certainly interesting. Also surreal. They were talking about events that took place in the spring of 1994. I can’t imagine having to provide details about something that happened 15 years ago! The witness spoke fairly confidently but the prosecution was very strong as well. The oddest part was that even though we were behind a glass wall looking into the court room, the glass was transparent (as opposed to one way), so everyone in the courtroom could see the public. I made eye contact with an alleged murderer of genocide activity. I will have to follow his trial via the UN website and see how it turns out. I think they will deliver a decision some time in September.