H ome Trials Institutions Contacts Law . T he Calvary of the Nuns of Sovu Mother Gertrude, Prioress of Sovu, and Maria Kisito, her acolyte, have begun their long Calvary before jury members in Brussels. Appearing before the jury, she now tries to save the last of her nuns, Maria Kisito, by proclaiming her innocence at all costs. In front of the Brussels jury, Mother Gertrude seems to be pursuing a formidable mission, one that began back on July 2, 1993. Until then, two Belgian nuns had presided over the destinies of this tiny community of Butare.
Witness testimonies reveal a certain degree of resentment there.
This was the context in which Sister Gertrude carried out her mission. The accusations made by the chief prosecutor indicate that it was. Indeed, in trying to save the thirty one nuns from the militias' machetes, Gertrude allegedly agreed to even requested the departure of the refugees, some of whom were from other prefectures and some of whom belonged to the families of six of her nuns, in order to spare the church members and its property. At the time of the genocide, however, such a departure meant certain death. The presiding judge reprimanded Sister Gertrude for giving new evidence to the court that she had not brought up during the nine previous interrogations.