Hategeka led the province of Gitarama a few years after the genocide, before being elected mayor of Muhanga, a position which he resigned from in 2007.
According to the state Rwanda Radio, the former official was found guilty of having had massacred several teachers who had sought refuge in the bishopric of Kabgayi, Gitarama, where he was then in charge of primary and secondary education.
Hategeka was tried by a gacaca court in Kigali which had travelled from Gitarama for the trial.
The law on the gacaca courts envisages the possibility for a defendant or any other party to challenge the bench of his community to appear before a bench from elsewhere.
The Gacaca Courts are not presided by professional judges but by people considered of high esteem in the society.
The Rwandan Minister for Justice, Tharcisse Karugarama, stated on Tuesday over Radio Rwanda, that the gacaca courts had already tried nearly 1.5 million people.
ER/MM/SC/GF
© Hirondelle News Agency
