Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) Thursday confirmed the death of a Sierra Leonean war crimes convict who was serving a 50-year jail term in Rwanda. Alex Tamba Brima, 45, died at King Faisal Hospital, Kigali where he had been hospitalised for the last one month, according to officials. He was among the seven war crimes convicts of the United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) transferred to Rwanda to serve their sentences. The inmates, transferred to Rwanda in 2009, are being held at the “UN Block” of Mpanga Prison, in Nyanza District, Southern Province, where they are serving sentences that range between 10 and 50 years. Brima, a former Sierra Leonean military commander, was found guilty of war crimes, including acts of terrorism, collective punishments, extermination, murder and crimes against humanity and murder. “We have written to the Police to conduct an autopsy pending a medical report,” said CIP Hillary Sengabo, the RCS spokesperson. He added that RCS also sent a letter to the Special Court for Sierra Leone informing them of the incident as required under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the hosting of the imamates. Under the deal, Sengabo said that RCS is required to notify the court of whatever incident that happens, involving the convicts, and in case of death, Rwanda is also required to facilitate the transfer of the body to Sierra Leone for burial. Sengabo said it will take about a week to transfer the body back home due to the process involved.Brima was part of a group of 17 soldiers in the Sierra Leone Armed Forces, who called themselves Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), that staged a coup that ousted President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in May 1997. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
