The semi-traditional Gacaca Courts have jurisdiction to try for crimes, looting and destruction of goods committed in Rwanda between 1 October 1990 and 31 December 1994.
Gabriel Mbariyehe who headed the administrative sector of Nyarugenge, covering the center of Kigali, is accused of having looted goods worth about 15 billion Rwandan Francs ($ 27 million) of Paul Ruhamyambuga, currently one of the most prosperous businessman in Rwanda.
Shortly after the start of the hostilities on 1 October 1990, the government of President Juvenal Habyarimana had carried out massive arrests of mostly Tutsis, allegedly for being accomplices of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).
According to witnesses, Mbyariyehe himself, under heavy escort, had the looted goods loaded onto the trucks and driven to personal stores.
The witnesses also claimed that businessman Obed Ruzindana, who has already been convicted by the Arusha-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), also took part in this operation.
SRE/ER/MM/SC/GF
© Hirondelle News Agency