Jean Damascene Ntezimana from Rwamagana was on Friday last week handed life sentence by Ngoma Intermediate Court for killing his 7-month pregnant wife in April this year.

Like the trial proceedings, the verdict was handed from the village in Karenge sector in Rwamagana where the crime was committed and witnessed by hundreds of residents, majority of whom former neighbours.

Court found Ntezimana guilty of murder and desecration of a human body, including dismemberment, and was handed life sentence, the heaviest punishment that can be rendered under the Rwandan penal system.

The suspect had pleaded guilty during the hearing that was held on July 10.

He was also convicted of trying to escape justice after murdering his wife.

The same court sentenced Joseph Gakire, a friend to Ntezimana, who was charged as an accomplice, especially for his role in covering up the accused after he killed his wife.

Gakire was sentenced to five years and ordered to pay a fine of Rwf1,000,000.

Ntezimana admitted to have killed his wife, Beatrice Muhawenimana, with whom he has 6 children. They had been married since July 25, 2002.

The gruesome murder of Ntezimana’s wife caused ripples across the whole country, owing to the manner in which it was committed.

On the fateful day, Ntezimana not only killed his wife who was seven-months pregnant, but also dismembered her.

During the hearing, Ntezimana told court, to the shock of residents, that after killing his wife, as a way of getting rid of evidence, he cut the body into pieces using a knife, peeled off her skin tissue from bones, stuffed the bones into a sack and dumped it on the banks of Lake Mugesera.

He dumped the other body parts in a toilet.

In covering up for the death, Ntezimana told neighbours that his wife’s pregnancy did not belong to him, and that she had eloped with the man who was responsible for the pregnancy.

It was not before a week later that the truth came out and residents later discovered the body parts.

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Residents upbeat

Ntezimana and the deceased wife had been living in disputes, which neighbours knew about, but the neighbours say they were shaken by the way this 40-year-old man killed his wife, stating that he deserves no mercy.

The final verdict against Nzeyimana was therefore welcomed by the former neighbours but all expressed mixed feeling over the sentence handed to Gakire.

Samuel Rugamba, a resident of Karenge, said he is satisfied with the verdict.

"That man committed a terrible crime. The way he killed his own spouse; that saddened all of us. Because there is no heavier punishment than life sentence, so that is what he deserves,” he said.

Christine Nyirabaganza, another resident, also said Karenge residents are pleased with the jury’s decision on Ntezimana, but she expressed dissatisfaction about the punishment for Gakire who is guilty of concealing the information of the main criminal for a week.

"Gakire deserved more years in prison. Well, but that is what the judges probably found suitable for his crime,” she said.

Nyirabaganza pointed out that many family members have conflicts among them and some eventually kill each other "mostly because of properties”.