Arusha, September 13th, 2004 (FH) - A prosecution witness Monday told at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), that the former minister of commerce, Justin Mugenzi, had annulled the results of elections of his political party in 1993 because most of those elected were Tutsis.

Jean-Baptiste Nkuliyingoma, a former minister of information in the post-genocide government, was appearing as the 38th witness in the trial where Mugenzi and three other former ministers are charged genocide and crimes against humanity.

Justin Mugenzi was the president of the Liberal Party (PL), which attracted the support of many members of the Tutsi ethnic group.

Nkuliyingoma told the tribunal that before PL split into two camps, Mugenzi had been a charismatic leader who opposed former president Juvenal Habyarimana’s grip on power and fought for equality.

The witness continued that the accused had been among the first persons who had publicly stated that he favoured peace talks with the then rebels of the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) who were engaged in a bitter civil war against the Rwandan government.

“Mugenzi made an abrupt about-turn in 1993 and espoused the “Hutu power faction”, said Nkuliyingoma. “He rejected the results of the elections because nearly all those elected to PL’s allotted parliamentary posts were Tutsis”.

Nkuliyingoma added that unconfirmed reports talked of a secret pact between Mugenzi and his former political enemy, Habyarimana, where the former would benefit from juicy business deals.

He continued that there had been a cycle of violence against Tutsis in the past that had gone unpunished which the government of the day attributed to “uncontrollable popular reprisals”.

Mugenzi is co-accused in this trial with the former minister of health, Casimir Bizimungu, that of foreign affairs, Jerome Bicamumpaka, and Prosper Mugiraneza, former minister of Public Service.

They have each pleaded not guilty to six counts of genocide and crimes against humanity.

The trial continues Tuesday in Trial Chamber Three of the ICTR composed of Judge Khalida Rachid Khan from Pakistan (presiding), Judge Lee Gaciuga Muthoga of Kenya, and Judge Emile Francis Short from Ghana.

KN/JA/GF/FH (GVII’’0913e)