Théoneste Bagosora Colonel Théoneste Bagosora ( born August 16 , 1941 ) is a former Rwandan military officer . He is chiefly known for his key role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide , for which he has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ( ICTR ) . History and career . Bagosora was born in Giciye commune , Gisenyi préfecture , in Rwanda , of Hutu ethnicity . In 1964 , he graduated from the " École des officiers " ( Officers ' School ) in Kigali with the rank of 2 lieutenant , and continued his studies in France . During his military career he served as second - in - command of the " École supérieure militaire " ( Superior Military School ) in Kigali and as commander of Kanombe military camp . He was appointed to the position of " directeur du cabinet " ( Director of the Cabinet ) in Rwanda ' s Ministry of Defence in June 1992 . Despite his official retirement from the military on September 23 , 1993 , he retained this portfolio until fleeing the country in July 1994 . Role in the genocide . Bagosora was born in the same northern region as Juvénal Habyarimana , the president of Rwanda from 1973 to 1994 . He was linked to le Clan de Madame , known later as the " akazu " , a group associated with Agathe Habyarimana , the president ’ s wife , who was rumored to be a Hutu extremist and related to very powerful members of society . He displayed a lust for power that was well known among extremists . Although he was present at the negotiations of the Arusha Accords in August , 1993 , he never supported them and is widely cited as saying , once everything was signed , that he was returning to Rwanda to prepare for the apocalypse . Luc Marchal , a Belgian Colonel , who was Romeo Dallaire ' s Kigali sector commander , reported that Bagosora told him that the only way to solve Rwanda ’ s problems was to get rid of the Tutsi . Bagosora was responsible for establishing paramilitary " self - defense " units , the Interahamwe , that would operate in every commune in the country . These groups were to act in concert with the local police , militias , and military authorities . Bagosora was also responsible for distributing arms and machetes throughout Rwanda . Between January 1993 and March 1994 Rwanda imported more than 500 , 000 machetes , twice the number than imported in previous years . There were lists drawn up identifying people as enemies . The stage was set . At about 8 : 15 pm on the evening of April 6 , 1994 , President Habyarimana was flying back to Kigali after a meeting when his plane was struck by two missiles fired from the ground . The plane crashed , killing everyone on board . While there is no conclusive evidence as to who is responsible for shooting down the plane , Colonel Bagosora and the " akazu " are suspected by many to have been at the center of the conspiracy . Nonetheless , news of the President ' s death was broadcast and the killings began . After the assassination , Colonel Bagosora along with Colonel Rwagafilita gathered supporters and convened a meeting of a Crisis Committee . Romeo Dallaire , the UN commander was invited , and arrived to find the senior leadership of the Rwandan army . Dallaire rejected Bagosora ’ s proposal of having the military take control of the political situation until they could hand it over to the politicians and he reminded him that Rwanda still had a government headed by Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana . Bagosora responded that she was incapable of governing the nation . A few hours later , Madame Agathe was murdered with her husband by members of the Presidential Guard and the army . After Bagosora ' s failed attempt to have the military take over the role of government , the group proceeded to pick a provisional government . The interim government was a multiparty group , but all came from the hardliner sections of their respective parties . Massacres began all over the country . Many prominent Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed right away , their names and addresses having been on lists . Radio Mille Collines broadcast incitements to murder . Trucks began arriving to pick up scores of bodies . On the morning of April 7 , ten Belgian peacekeepers who had been guarding Prime Minister Agathe and who were witnesses to the government troops laying siege to her residence , were disarmed and taken to Camp Kigali , approximately 200 metres from where Colonel Bagosora was holding a meeting of military officers . The peacekeepers were murdered over the course of several hours by military personnel . The peackeepers had their Achilles tendons cut to prevent their escape , they were then castrated , and their penises stuffed in their mouths . During his testimony Colonel Bagosora admitted attending to the scene while the murders were in progress , although claiming he could do nothing to stop the killings . As anticipated , the death of the ten Belgian peacekeepers prompted the withdrawal of most peacekeeping troops from Rwanda , effectively clearing the way for slaughter . Over the next 100 days , people were being killed at an astonishing rate . The number of dead varies from 800 , 000 to 1 , 000 , 000 people , depending on the source . Upon the interference of Tutsi army in response to the genocide , Bagosora fled into neighbouring Zaire . “ Fed and protected in refugee camps supported by millions of dollars in international aid , the Hutu Power leaders were able to hold regular planning meetings and to recruit new members . ” With Bagosora actively involved , they rebuilt their military structures with the purpose of wiping out the Tutsi population . ICTR trial . Bagosora later moved to Cameroon with several other Hutu Power leaders . It was there that he was detained with André Ntagerura . In 1997 , he first appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ( ICTR ) in Arusha , Tanzania , to face thirteen counts of eleven different international crimes , based on the laws of genocide , crimes against humanity , and war crimes . The joint trial with three other senior military officers charged as co - conspirators opened on April 2 , 2002 . During his trial further evidence was submitted that in 1991 he and other co - accused helped to draft a document where they referred to the Tutsi ethnic group as the " principal enemy " which was widely distributed in the army . They were also accused of supporting the media outlets responsible for spreading hate messages and making lists of victims . The trial wrapped up on June 1 , 2007 , after five years , with Colonel Théoneste Bagosora still maintaining his innocence . On December 18 , 2008 , the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Bagosora and two other senior Rwandan army officers , Major Aloys Ntabakuze and Colonel Anatole Nsengiyumva , guilty of genocide , crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced him to life imprisonment . In ruling that life imprisonment was the appropriate sentence for Bagosora the three trial judges concurred that " The toll of human suffering was immense as a result of crimes which could have only occurred with his orders and authorisation . " The tribunal court stated that Bagosora had been " the highest authority in the Rwandan Defense Ministry , with authority over the military " in the aftermath of the assassination of President Habyarimana . The court ruled that Bagosora was responsible for the murders of Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana , the 10 Belgian peacekeepers who had been guarding the Prime Minister at Camp Kigali , the president of the Constitutional Court Joseph Kavaruganda , and three major opposition leaders , Faustin Rucogoza , Frederic Nzamurambaho , and Landoald Ndasingwa . In addition , the court found Bagosora guilty of orchestrating the mass killings of Tutsis in Kigali and Gisenyi . However , the trial court held there was a reasonable doubt that events prior to April 6 could only be explained by Bagosora conspiring with others , so he was therefore acquitted on a charge of conspiracy to commit genocide prior to April 6 , 1994 . In the end result at trial , former Colonel Theoneste Bagosora was convicted of 10 counts of eight different crimes , including genocide , two counts of murder ( one for Rwandans and one for peacekeepers ) , Extermination , Rape , Persecution , Other Inhumane Acts , two counts of Violence to Life ( one for Rwandans and one for peacekeepers ) as well as Outrages Upon Personal Dignity . References . Linda Melvern : Conspiracy to Murder ( Verso Paperback 2006 )