At the time of the genocide in Rwanda, he was Pastor of of the Pentecostal church of Kayenzi in Kenzenze commune. The ICTR Prosecutor alleges in an eight-page indictment that “he led a group of killers to look for and exterminate Tutsi” and that the group lived at the Kayenzi church.
On April 7, says the indictment, he ordered that three roadblocks be erected around Kayenzi church. “Most of Tutsi civilians who tried to seek refuge at Kayenzi church during April 1994 were captured at that roadblock and brought to the Church where they were killed”, it says.
On or about 9 April 1994, Pastor Uwinkindi led an attack against a group of Tutsis, killing many of them, according to the prosecution. “To defeat completely the endurance of the Tutsi survivors, Pastor Uwinkindi called for the assistance of gendarmes who, with the use of guns, attacked Tutsi refugees killing some of them”, reads the document.
On April 10, he is also accused of killing hundreds of Tutsis who had sought refuge in the swamps. According to the indictment, “The survivors of the attacks who fled to swamps and forests and other hiding places were searched and attacked regularly every day, by Uwinkindi who was accompanied by Interahamwe. The refugees who were later found in these places were immediately brought to the Kayenzi church to be killed there”.
Pastor Uwinkindi has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He is the first ICTR detainee to be transferred to Rwanda for trial.
ER/GF/JC