In her testimony before the Cour d’assises de Paris, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi recounted the brutal nightmare she endured under the orders of Dr. Sostherne Munyemana. She testified in the ongoing trial which focuses on Munyemana's alleged role in the genocide, particularly in the Tumba Sector. The witness, who was 25 years old at the time and married with two children, described the horrors she experienced during the genocide. She detailed how she was held captive alongside other Tutsi women, raped and tortured on the orders of Munyemana. ALSO READ: Survivors, activists hope for justice as 'Butcher of Tumba' trial starts in France According to her testimony, Munyemana instructed the Interahamwe, a militant Hutu group, to target young Tutsi women for sexual violence or forced marriages. The witness further revealed that Munyemana, in collaboration with other sector leaders, initiated roadblocks where numerous Tutsi were targeted and killed. She alleged that Munyemana maintained a list of people to be killed. The killings did not stop at physical violence. The witness claimed that Tutsi women were injected with syringes containing deadly substances in their private parts. These needles, provided by Munyemana, were allegedly filled with medicines aimed at causing rapid death. The witness spoke of the unimaginable moment she witnessed, such as removing syringes from her mother-in-law's body. According to the survivor, Munyemana, a gynaecologist actively participated in encouraging the Interahamwe to commit further killings. The witness also recalled Munyemana's departure in June, leaving the area without fulfilling the promised rewards to the perpetrators. This departure allegedly led to protests among the Interahamwe, who demanded payment and advocated for the killing of the hostages, arguing that Munyemana's exit signified their defeat. Munyemana faces five charges, including, genocide, being complicity in a genocide crime, complicity in crimes against humanity and participation in preparation of genocide. Available information indicates that the suspect was born in 1955 in Mbare, the former Commune of Musambira, in the former Gitarama prefecture. After completing studies at the University of Rwanda in Huye, Munyemana specialised in gynaecology at the University of Bordeaux II in France. ALSO READ: Munyemana was sentenced to life by Gacaca On his return, he worked at the University Hospital in Butare (CHUB) and taught in the faculty of medicine at the University of Rwanda. During the Genocide, Munyemana resided in the Gitwe cell, in Tumba Sector. His wife and three children remained in France. Munyemana was on leave from the end of March to early May 1994, when he participated in the Genocide, after which he fled to France. ALSO READ: France: Trial of Genocide suspect Hategekimana underway In 2007, Gacaca courts tried him in absentia and sentenced him to 30 years and another life sentence in jail, for genocide crimes he committed in Tumba where he lived. Among other atrocities he committed in Tumba include the incarceration of the Tutsi in Tumba Sector’s meeting room and the selection of people to be killed. He was also charged with the distribution of guns that former Prime Minister Jean Kambanda gave him, and the killings at Mukoni roadblock. ALSO READ: Genocide fugitive in France loses case over ‘African Nazi’ label Munyemana fled to France in 1994 and continued his medical career at Villeneuve-sur-Lot Hospital until 2009 he was suspended.
