Prosecuted for genocide and extermination, "the old man", as many witnesses presented him, is essentially accused of having carried out murderous attacks against Tutsis who had sought refuge in churches of the Cyangugu prefecture (south-western Rwanda) in April 1994.
The judges scheduled the date of the defendant's testimony after having heard the 19th defence witness, a "genocidaire" sentenced to life in prison in Rwanda.
The witness code-named ‘'ELB'' to preserve his identity, defended Munyakazi on almost all the allegations charged against him.
But during the cross-examination by the ICTR prosecuting counsel, Richard Karegyesa, revealed major contradictions between his testimony at the hearing and his former testimonies before Rwandan justice.
Munyakazi's trial started on 22 April. The prosecutor rested his case on 4 June after having called 12 witnesses.
The defendant, who called his first witness on 31 August, was arrested in May 2004 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where he lived as an Imam under the name of Mzee Mandevu (literally, the bearded old man in Kiswahili).
ER/MM/NI/GF
© Hirondelle News Agency
