Augustin Bizimungu (born 28 August 1952) is a Rwandan convicted war criminal and former military officer. On 16 April 1994, following the outbreak of the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

, he was appointed chief of staff of the army and promoted to the rank of major general. In 2011, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the Rwandan genocide.

Biography

Bizimungu was born in Byumba préfecture, Mukarange Commune, Mugina Secteur, Nyange Cellule,

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

. An ethnic

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...

, Bizimungu held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the FAR on 6 April 1994. Some days later, in the wake of Déogratias Nsabimana's death alongside

Juvénal Habyarimana Juvénal Habyarimana (; ; 8 March 19376 April 1994) was a Rwandan politician and military officer who was the second president of Rwanda, from 1973 until Assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira, his assassination in 1994. H ...

, Bizimungu was promoted to major general and appointed as chief of staff of the Rwandan Army of the FAR, replacing Marcel Gatsinzi. Upon fleeing the country following the

Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi; , FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. The RPF was founded in December 1987 by Rwandan Tutsi in exile in Uganda because of the ethnic violence that had occurred during the Rwandan Hutu Revo ...

(RPF) victory, he reportedly declared that "The RPF will rule over a desert." On 12 April 2002, the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; ; ) was an international court, international ''ad-hoc'' court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in United Nations Security Council Resolution 955, Resolutio ...

(ICTR) issued an arrest warrant for Bizimungu, who was apparently working with the

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

n rebel movement

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Liberat ...

. In August 2002, he was arrested by the Angolan government and taken to the U.N.

War Crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

Tribunal in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. The trial adjourned until September 2008, whereupon Bizimungu was tried along with fellow FAR officers Augustin Ndindiliyimana (Chief of Staff of the National Gendarmerie), François-Xavier Nzuwonemeye (Commander of the Reconnaissance Battalion of the Rwandan Army) and Innocent Sagahutu (Second-in-Command of the Reconnaissance Battalion of the Rwandan Army). Bizimungu was sentenced to thirty years in prison for his part in the genocide on 17 May 2011. Bizimungu is portrayed by

Fana Mokoena Fana Mokoena (born 13 May 1971) is a South African actor and political activist, he served as a Member of Parliament, first as a delegate to the National Council of Provinces representing his home province Free State (province), Free State from ...

in the 2004

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Hotel Rwanda ''Hotel Rwanda'' is a 2004 biographical historical drama film co-written and directed by Terry George. It was adapted from a screenplay by George and Keir Pearson, and stars Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo as hotelier Paul Rusesabagina and h ...

.''

References

1952 births Living people 20th-century criminals Hutu people People from Northern Province, Rwanda People convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Rwandan people convicted of genocide Rwandan generals {{Africa-mil-bio-stub