Survivor of Nyungwe attacks wants to meet Rusesabagina and Sankara

Alice Kayitesi, a survivor of the Nyungwe attacks, has asked court to allow her to meet face to face with Paul Rusesabagina and Callixte Nsabimana alias Sankara. Rusesabagina and Nsabimana are two of the masterminds of the 2018 terror acts that left Kayitesi and several others in a miserable life characterised by physical disability and psychological trauma. Kayitesi made the request on Thursday, June 16 while testifying to court about the ordeal she went through along with other passengers who were on-board a public service van that was intercepted by the attackers while travelling from Rusizi to Kigali. Standing before the judges, an emotional Kayitesi gave a detailed account of what happened in the attacks and the effects it had on her life. They shot so intensely at our bus. I was sitting close to a girl who was about 12-years-old, and I saw her being shot in the head, she said, Another man who was sitting next to me was also shot.” “When I looked at my clothes,” she narrated, “I saw blood and pieces of flesh and I got to know that I had also been shot.” At that time, the bus was still moving, but later, when it stopped she says she looked at one of the back seats and saw a woman who had been shot dead but still having her living baby sitting on her lap. Kayitesi was shot in the leg but also sustained more injuries as she and other survivors tried to hide in the jungles, in order to escape from the terrorists. Though she survived, her life may never be the same as she sustained back injuries, which cant allow her to stand for long, nor effectively work well as she used to, in addition to other things like wearing high-heeled shoes like other young women. I had a dream of studying well, make good money and live well. I am only a Rwandan child who wanted a good life. But some people took a decision to change that. They really retarded my life, she said sobbing. At some point during her testimony to court, she was overcome by emotion and failed to speak. The judge proposed that she should first take a break, but she said she could continue. As she concluded her speech to the court, Judge Antoine Muhima asked her: Is there anything more you want to say? She replied: I want to meet with Sankara and Rusesabagina, and talk to them in person. The case in which Paul Rusesabagina along with 20 others is being tried in connection to terror crimes perpetrated against Rwandan citizens resumed today June 16. The case is currently underway at the High Court Chamber for International and Cross-Border Crimes in Kigali.

News

Survivor of Nyungwe attacks wants to meet Rusesabagina and Sankara