~,t: ~ :55 958, Statementby Omar SERUSHAGO

In 1990,I wasa currencydealer, in bothlocal and foreign currencies. My father was a conseillerdesecteur and a bigtrader in Gisenyi town. He was a nativeof thesame area as thePresident (Giciye commune) and that explains why he wasa veryinfluential man. 2. Dudng the Octoberl990war, the leadersof the MRND, namelyCol. RWENDEYE, MAGERA(the President’sbrother-in-law) and Col. InnocentNZABANITA alias "Dictionnaire",contacted my fatherand suggested to himthat I shouldbecome a member of theMRND/ (theInterahamwe already existed by 1990,but it wasa secret)» My fatherand I discussedthe advantages of beinga memberof theMRND, after which I decidedto jointhe movement. However, the nature of my jobdid not allow me to attend meetings,as I wasoften away from Gisenyi. (N.B: the three people mentioned above are dead).

3. I madeseveral business trips between Kigali and Gisenyi between 1990 and 1992. While in Kigali,I would not stay in a hotel.I wouldstay at theresidence of CIaverMVUYEKURE, the Director of the Banque Commercialedu (BCR) or at Felicien NSENGIMANA’s( who is currentlyin Gabon).We alwaystalked about the in our conversationwith these people. They kept saying: "They are our enemies and we shallkill them one day". Very often Col. BUREGEYA(Commander of the Ecole Supérieur Militaire)and Col. NGAYINTERANYA(Commander of the Gendarmeriein Rwanda) visitedus and theywould ask me to workwith the Interahamwe, so as to assistthe Presidentfight against and eliminate the Tutsis and moderate .

4. In July1993, Jean Marc MPOZEMBIZI(Bourgmestre of Rubavu),Fazili HAKIZIMANA (conseillerde secteur for Gisenyi) and SIBOMANA alias "Sheikh" (conseiller de secteur forGisenyi), started recruiting young people and giving them military training in the Bigogwecamp. I wasnet involved in theseactivities at the time, because of my business. The trainingwas conductedby Major FrançoisXavier UWIMANA and the camp commanderwas MajorJuvenal BAHUFITE. The followingare someof the Interahamwe fromGisenyi who underwent militait trainîng: Bernard MUNYAGISHARI HASSANalias "Gitoki" (eut thumb) Thomas MUGIRANEZA ZainaboFAZILI (Bernard MUNYAGISHARI’s wife, new in Gisenyi prison) DJUMAPILI NYARIBOGI Zari KANYARUHENGERI SifaMUREKATETE (017’s sister-in-law, whodied in TingiTingi)

5. Whenthe Interahamwecompleted their training, Bourgmestre MPOZEMBIZI (now in Gisenyiprison) and ConseillersHAKIZIMANA (in Gisenyiprison) and SIBOMANAWent to militarycamps and obtainedweapons which they handed over to thelnterahamwe. I rememberthe womenreceiving AK 47’s.

K005-2406- K005-2413 Translat¢dfrom the French 1 .1¢/ °aD ~ C~.~$9S9

6. In July/August1993, the GisenyiInterahamwe received a delegationof somethirty lnterahamwemilitiamen from Kigali. I laidthese people in theMRND hall in Gisenyiand duringthe night, Major Juvenal BAHUFITE, who was then G2 in themilitary intelligence, tookthem to the Bigogwecommando trairàng centre. In Bigogwe,the delegationwas reeeivedby MajorFrançois Xavier UWIMANA, who was in chargeof theirtraining. Tl~y weregiven military la’aining toenable them kill the Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

70 DuringJuly, August and September 1993, I tookpart in demonstrationsagainst other politiealparties. The demonstrations were organised by theMRND chairman and vice- chairmanfor Gisenyi,Whellas BANZI and MathieuNYAGASAZA respectively, and a CDR memberealled Barnabé SAMVURA. I neverattended the meetings,but I reeeived instructionsfrom HASSANand BernardMUNYAGISHARI. They told me that I was "strictand reliable" and would instruct me togo withlnterahamwe youths to getpick-up trucksfrom traders for use in colleeting stones which were used for bloeking roads and the airportin a bidto prevent the Tutsis from escaping. I took part in three demonstrations and my rolewas always the same (trucks and stones). During one demonstration in (October 1993?),Bernard MUNYAGISHARI and Bamabé SAMVURAinstructed me to go and fetcha Tutsiwoman named Patricia UZABUMWANA, who was marriedto a Belgianwho ownedEdelweiss hotel, and takeher to the GisenyiMRND office. Michel (of CDR), KIGURU-MUBARAKA,our driverLionceau MUVUNYI and I, wentto EldeweissHotel. I askedthe woman to followus tothe MRND office, so thatshe takes back a fziGs~ageto theTutsis that we knew what they were doing and that we wereready [sic]."V#~,,,~lad gone forher because she used to letthe Tutsis and moderate Hutus meet in oneof the rooms in thehotel. The woman feared for her lire offered me moneywhich I refusedto take.We forcedber to theMRND office. When we gotto theoffice, Benard and Bamabé told those prescrit:"This is theTutsi woman who offers the Tutsis a ropm~in’whichthey hold their meetings.She said she was a ,but of Belgian nationality, ThePréfet, who was in his office,telephoned Kigali and was ordered to releasethe woman on groundsof her Belgian nationality.Préfet Joseph HABIYAMBERE drove ber home.

8, In’~’ December1993, Joseph NZIRORERA and JuvenalUWlLINGIMANA held a meeting at theMéridien Hotel in Gisenyi.The following ten leaders of the lnterahamwe militiamen in Gisenyiattended the meeting: f~ - BernardMUNYAGISHARI, overaU chairman of the lnterahamwefor Gisenyi préfecture(said to be in Masisi) - HASSANalias Gitoki (eut thumb), ehairman of the lnterahamwefor Gisenyi town (saidto be in Bukavuor Goma) - ThomasMUGIRANEZA, vice-ehairman of the lnterahamwefor Gisenyitown (said tobe in Masisi) - MabuyeTWAGIRAYEZU, CDR chairmanfor Gisenyi - OmarSERUSHAGO, who heldno officialtitle among the Gisenyi Interahamwe, but in reality,being a nativeof the samevillage as PresidentHABYARIMANA gav~him considerablepowers. He wasthe de factochairman of thelnterahamwe in Gisenyi aP town. - ZainaboFAZILI, the lnterahamweseeretary for Gisenyiand MUNYAGISHARI’s wife.(She is in prison in Gisenyi)

K005-2406- K005-2413 Translatedfrom the Frcnch 2 - RashidGAHUTU, publicity secretary for the Interaharrrwe in Gisenyi (deceased) - DJUMAPILI-NYARIBOGI,treasurer for the GisenyiInterahamwe - ~ ZariKANYARUHENGERI, treasurer.

The meetinghad beenconvened to announceto us thatwe werelucky to havea new commandantde placein Gisenyi,Col. AnatoleNSENGIYUMVA, who was a hativeof Gisenyiand a trueInterahamwe andthat Iris presence should hOt pose any problem to us,for he belongedto ourpolkical party and was an Interahamwe.(The Colonel had arrived that veryday). NZIRORERA told us thathe wouldtalk to the Colonel to get us amas.He saidthat the weaponswere hOt toysto play withand addedthat Bernard MUNYAGISHARI was goingto briefus on whatto do withthem. NZIRORERA offered 20,000 Rwandan francs to eachof theten Interaharrrwe present. I came to leamlater that NZIRORERA told Bernard thatthe weapons were to beused to eliminatethe Tutsis when things exploded in Gisenyi.

9. In January,February and March 1994, I cominuedwith my usualmoney-changing business. Severalmeetings were held but I did notattend them. HASSAN kept me informedof the outcome.Before April 1994, Bamabé SAMVURA of CDR circulateda documentin which he warnedail the Hutus to be alert,as the Tutsis were due to fight them. He furthersaid: "Youthe young Hutus, be reassured that you will be supplied with guns to fightthe Tutsis. Do notfear to goto thechurches if that is wherethe Tutsis are hiding. Go andfight them there".The documentwas signedby JeanBosco BARAYAGWIZA (now underarrest in Arusha)

10.On 7 April1994??, I was livingin one of Col.Bonaventure BUREGEYA’s houses. Thomas MUGIRANEZAand one soldiercame and toldme to watchthe houseof my neighbour, MUSONERA,who was a Tutsiand whosefamily members they were going to kill.I said thatI wouldkill them. (The MUSONERAs were my friends).When MUGIRANEZA and the soldierleft, I broughtthe MUSONERAsto my house,got my gun (an R4) and droveth~ familyL to thepriests for protection (the priests’ house was ne~ mine).MUSONERA had~$P UZIgun in hishouse which I tookwith me to my house.

11.On6 April1994, I leftthe Méridien hotel at about 9.30 p.m. after taking some beer. At about 7.30a.m. the next moming, about ten lnterahamwefrom Kanama and Byahi, arrived at my house,armed with maehetes and said they wanted to killmy wife(a Tutsi)and the members of the MUSONERAfamily. I pickedup my R4 gun and gavethe UZI gun to a youngman whoused to live with me andtold him to shoot if theInterahamwe tried to forcetheir way inside.The Interahamwe then went away.

At about8.30 a.m., four of thelnterahamwe returned to my houseand asked where the MUSONERAswere. I toldthem that I hadbeen to theirhouse but round no onether~l$ffhe~-." Interahamweleft. At thisvery moment, Col. Bonaventure BUREGEYA came and toldme thatthe lnterahamwe had killed lais younger brother’s daughter. The Colonel asked me to accompanyhim to look for the body and bury it. When we arrived at thebouse, the girl was indeeddead and the mother and three boys were hiding in theceiling. We drovethem to thecolonel’s house and before I left,the colonel told me "My brother, do notspill blood. ThePresident isdead and the little one (the girl) is dead. Do not spill blood".

K005-2406- K005-2413 Translatedfrom the French 3 I leftthe Colonel and return¢d to my bouse(ai about 10.00 a.m.). In front of myhouse, met LieutenantBIZUMUREMYI who intimidatedme by asking:"Why are you ,not involvedin thcoperation like the other Interahamwe?". I told him that I wouldbc joining theopcmtion in oneor twohours’ rime. Before leaving, he requcstedme fo lookfor the Interahamwein our neighbourhood so that he couldissue them with grenades and ~bullets.

I stayedat home and at about 2.00 p.m., Col. ,tmatole came with about ten soldi¢rs and four bodyguardsin his Land Rover, followed by sixother soldiers. Hc askedme why I wasnot takingpart in the operation like the others. I explained that my wife was pregnant and I was waitingto transferher fo Goma.The Préfet allowed me thirty days and on 13April, I took herto Goma. (I did not participate inthe operation from 6 to 13April and Colonel Anatole wamedme thatI wasrisking my lifeby not doing so.) "

On 13 April,having left my wifein Goma,I rctumedto my bouseand met Interahamwe Thomas MUGIRANEZA and Bernard MUNYAGISHARI,as well as CDR members, namely Hassan MABUYE-TWAGIRAYEZU,GAHUTU and DJUMAPILI-NYARIBOGI. (DJUMAPILI-NYARIBOGItoldme thathe had setEdelweiss hotel on tire).They told thatsince I wasa "strict"person, I should be in charge of theroadblock at"Corniche" (a Customsroadblock), which was a majorroadblock on theonly access road to Goma,Zaire. I acceptedthc assignmentand thcygave m~~our youths: two fromCDR and two from MRND, namely ABUBA-MACHAFU and BAHATI from CDR; and GAHUTU and HAMISI-POKOUalias "Etranger"from MRND. ThomasMUGIRANEZA used to as#ist me(by monitoring the situation and checking ifI necdedassistance). ., WhenI arrivcdat the roadblock,Col. Anatole NSENGIYUMVA came and toldme thatI wasin chargeof theroadblock and that I hadto workearncstly. He then instructed to collecta vehicle from my neighbours,thepdests. The priests were scared but ~::bxplained thatI hadbeen sent by thc Colonel.They gave me thevehicle and ~r/l~tumedto the roadblock. ~~ ~~:..

MajorApollinaire BIGANIRO, the Gendarmeriecommander for Gisenyi,came to the roadblockand instructed usnot to letany Tutsis or moderate Hutus pass. He instructed us to shootand killwhoever we caught.He furthertold us thatwe wereto workin collaborationwith him and that he wouldsupply us withammunition if wc neededany. We wereallowed access into the militarybase and Col.NSENGIYUMVA issucd us with permitsto bcarweapons. There was no incidentat theroadblock between 13 and20 April andwe did not participate inthe operations.

On 20 April1994, Col. Anatole NSENGIYUMVA told us thatthe soldierswere keeping Tutsisat the homeof BishopAloys BIGIRUMWAMI. He instructed us to go and collect them,adding that we shouldnot bave any problems with the soldiers. When we gotthere, thesoldiers disappeared and we loadedthe Tutsis (twenty of them)into mini-buses and drovethem to thecemetery whcrc we killedthem. I killedfour of them,a manand three women,with my gun.

K005-2406- K005-2413 Translat~lfrom the Fmnch 4 @? ~0ï35962

In faet,among the twenty victims of thatoperation, there were two women who were very closeto Col.NZUNGIZE, then commander of the Bigogwecommando training camp. One was_ his mistressand the otherwas his eldersister, a housekeeperat Bishop BIG1RUMWAMI’sresidence. A furiousCol. NZUNGIZE who wantedto revenge,sent his troopsto lookfor thoseresponsible for thewomen’s death. Thomas MUGIRANEZA and I went hîdingin JuvenalUWILINGIMANA and JosephNZIRORERA’s rooms at the Méridienhotel. Col. NSENGIYUMVAand Joseph NZIRORERAmet Col. NZUNGIZE andthe problem was sorted out.

Axound30 April,Major AppolinaireBIGANIRO, the gendarmeriecommander for Gisenyi,instructed us to go to RWANDEXand collect the Tutsis there and kilk them. He toldus thatthere were gendarmes there, who would identify the Tutsis for us. Those who took part in the mission were Damas??, Thomas, MUGIRANEZA, Bernard MUNYAGISHARI,Hassan alias "Gitoki", our driverMiehael ABUBA and I. Whenwe got to RWANDEX,the gendarmesshowed us two Tutsiwomen, two Tutsimen and one Hum girl.The Tutsiwatehman at RWANDEXwanted to denyus aceessby throwinga grenadeat us, but it did not explode.Damas, Michael ABUBA, Thomas MUGIRAI~EZA andBernard MUNYAGISHARI, beat the watchrnanto death,using stieks. **A whiteman who had a videocamera filmed the incident.(It was saidhe was Frenchman)**

A Tutsiwoman who knew me asked me: "Omar, w--’lïy do you do this?". I told her to remain ealmand that she was not going to be beatenlike the watehrnan. We tookthe two women and the two men to the eemeteryand we killedthem. The Tutsi~ who knew me (LonginRUDASINGWA’s second wife) was killedby Thomas,who s’glTot her in thehead. Theother woman and the two men were killed by Hassanalias "Gitoki"s body guard (name unknown).

Afterthis massacre, commander BIGANIRO came round to checkwhether the operation hadbeen sueeessfully accomplished. He told us to continuewith the operation, as there wereTutsis in the eells, whom we had to kill that night.

We wentto theeells and file guards allowed us to takeaway the Tutsis (the guards had beeninstrueted byBIGANIRO to letus do ourwork). We leftthe eells with ten Tutsis and tookthem to the publieeemetery. We toldthem we weretaking them to Rubavucommune fortheir safety. They were hot aware that ,,ve were taking them to the eemetery. (The term "publieeemetery" was the codenaine given to the lnterahamweby Bourgmestre MPOZEMBIZIto denotewhere the massacres were to takeplace.)

We killedthe ten Tutsis when we arrived at theeemetery. I did not kill anyone. I gave my gun to my youngerbrother, Feruzi AYABAGABO, who tookpart in the killing.He was withusas my bodyguard.Commander BIGANIRO came to sec us and saidthat we had to carryon withwhat we weredoing. He instruetedus to go to Nyundoand continue killing. ButI retumedto the"corniche" customs roadblock.

K005-2406- K005-2413 Translatedfrom the Frcnch Duringthe night, Col. NZUNGIZE sent a soldierto ldllme. The guard at the(customs) bordercame and toldme thatsome suspicious person wanted to seeme. I tookmy gun, appr0achedthe soldier and searched him. He had a pistoland a grenade.He startedmnning towardsthe Zaire border and I openedtire, hitting him in thelegs. I askè’dthe Zairean soldierstolook for him.

TheGeneral in Goma,who was at theimmigration post at theborder, heard the shots and telephonedCol. NSENGIYUMVA to ask whatwas happening.The Colonelarrived an hourlater and asked me whathad happened, as theZaireans elaimed that shots had been firedin theirdirection. I showed Col. NSENGIYUMVA the soldier’smission warrant, whiehhe haddropped. The warranthad bëen signed by Col.NZUNGIZE, instructing the soldierto killThomas MUGIRANEZA and myself.The soldierw~ subsequentlyarrested by theZaireans and handed over to thegendarmerie for questioning. I went to bedand whenI wokeup, Col. Anatole NSENGIYUMVA reassured me thatail wouldbe finewith Col.NZUNGIZE. Our group did not carry out any other operation.

Fromlate April to late May, I wasat the "corniche" roadblock, searchifig buses and other vehicles,inorder to identify Tutsis. We didnot find any during that period.

Aroundlate May or earlyJune, Joseph NZIRORERA told us thatsome Tutsis and Hut~ fromKigaii had corne to Gisenyiand that we hadto tracethem and kill them. He further toldus thatRadio RTLM was now based in Gisenyiand that he wouldkeep us reforme.d-of wherethe Tutsis and moderate Hutus were hiding.

Afterthat meeting, I ,,vent back to theroadblock. I got a telephonecall from Juvenal ~" UWILINGIMANA,who asked me to go and get LonginRUDASINGWA’s wife who was hiding in Fabien NSENGIYUMVA’shouse in Gisenyi, and kill her. Thomas MUGIRANEZAand I went for the woman and took ber to the Méridienhotel for L identification.Col. NSENGIYUMVA told us notto wastetime with her. He orderedthat we takeher to theeemetery and get rid of ber.We tookher to thecemetery where a FAR lieutenant(named RWABUHIHI) recognised her and killedher with a buUetin thehead. We then retumed to Palm Beach hotel to report to NZIRORERA and Col. NSENGIYUMVAthat the issueof the womanwas over.They congratulated us for a job welldonc.

Abouta weeklater, radio RTLM made a descriptionof Stanis SIMBIZI. When he arrived at the roadblock,he was recognisedby the President’sbrother-in-law, Prot~ ZIGIRANYIRAZOalias "Z". I arrested him and handed him over to Thorrl~ MUGIRANEZA,who tookhim to the cemeterywhere, according to whatThomas told mk-y~ :~ KIVENGE(son of YussufFataki) killed him with a machete. t

Towardsthe end of June,Col. NSENGIYUMVAsummoned ail of us to the Gisenyi militarybarracks and told us thatammunition was available and asked us torecruit youths to goand fight in Gitaramaand Kigaii. Rashid GAHUTU and I pliedthe roads in a vehicle equippedwith a megaphone.We wentaround Gisenyi and Byahi,where GAHUTU called uponthe youthto reportto Umugandastadium. At the stadium,Col. NSENGIYUMVA

K005-2406- K005-2413 Translatcdfrom th¢ Frcnch 6 toldthe youths that arms and ammunition were available for fighting the Tutsis in Kigali. He saidthat buses were ready te conveythe youths te Kigali.Three busloads left for Kig~i.I retumedte theroadblock after the meeting.

At about6.30 p.m., I wentte eat and drink in drink at PalmBeach hotel with ofmy brother Abass HABYARIMANA.There, we round FélicienNSENGIMANA (Director in the Presidency),BAGOSORA’s son-in-iaw (naine unknown) and CharlesBACURUWIHA. BAGOSORA’sbrother-in-law told us that a Tutsinamed EdouardNTAGA~URA (an accountantwith TRANSINTRAin Kigali),was in Gisenyiand had a lot ’~f money (500,000)and RPF files. My brotherand I wentte thehouse where NTAGANIRA was. Fie introducedhimself and my brother put him in the pick-up truck. As weleft, the neigh~«»urs shouted:"The boy is goingte dieimmediately, even though he isalItum". We tookhim te my house.In the meantime,the housekeepernext door telephoaed Col. NSNGIYUMVA and toldhim that something scandalous was happening. The Colonel rang te informme thatthe local population was bardcading the roads and that I hadte takeNTAGANIRA te themilitary barracks. When I retumedte the roomwhere I hadleft,F_,douard and my brother,I asked what had happened. My brother had cut offthe lower~a~-t of Edouard’s ear witha knife,because he said he hadno money.We wentte themilitary barracks where we met Col.NSNGIYUMVA. We handedover Edouard te the soldiersand leit.

Theday the French troops arrived in Gisenyi (8 July 1994?), I lefl the roadblock and went te PalmBeach hotel. I sawthe French troops at the round-about and I noticedthat one of thedrivers was a Tutsisoldier (called KAJUGUJUGU) frein the RPF. I leftthe hotel and askedKAJUGUJUGU: "what have you come te de here?".He didnet reply. I leftfor the roadblockand on my way,I met EnochKAYONDE and I toldhim whatI had justseen. KAYONDEwas alreadyaware of whatwas happening.I told him thatI was retumingte the roadblockte ensurethat KAJUGUJUGU did net go backte Zaire.I blockidthe ~ad and refusedte openwhen flac French soldiers and journalistsarrived. By then KAJUGUJUGUwas no longerdrivîng, but travellingin a militaryjeep driven by a journalist.I told the French soldiers that KAJUGUJUGU could net be allowedte cross over,as he wasa Tutsisoldier. The French soldiers conferred for about two te three minutes,then they left the Tutsi soldier with us andcrossed te Zaire.Later on, KAYONDE accompaniedby soldiersof the PresidentialGuard came and I handedKAJUGUJUGU te them.

TheFrench and the Zairean immigration officers were monitoring the situation frein their sideof the border.Se theycame te the roadblockwith the NorthKivu govemor, MOTOMUPENDA,te tell me thatthe boy wasa Zaireanand that I shouldhand him over te them.I tÇlephonedCoL NSENGIYUMVAand briefedhim on the situation.He then camete theroadblock and discussed with the govemor for ten minutes, after which the Colonelinstructed us te releaseKAJUGUJUGU te thegovernor, which we did.

Duringthis period, I hadhidden a Tutsiwoman and herfour children in my house(a businessmanfrom Kigali, Jean Claude NDAMIYE, had askedme te hidethem and help themcross over te Zaire).I alsohad two boys living with me, namely, Joseph Benjamin NIWE (son of MBONABARYI)and his brotherGaston MBONABARYI. One day (I

K005-2406- K005-2413 TranslateMfrom th¢ Fr¢n¢h 7 rememberthe date),the two boystogether with BAGOSORA’s son namedVicky, wanted tokill the woman and her four children. I told them that I wasthe boss in my houseand as suchI hadto decidetheir fate. I cooleddown the situation and I helpedthe family cross overto Zaire that very evening.

Oneday, in lateJune, I wasai flac"corniche" roadblock when a truckcarrying bdcks was retumingtoZaire. I checked the truck and round a Tutsiyoufla hidden in flae load of bricks. I arrestedthe young man (naineunknown) and handed him over to Bernard MUNYAGISHARIand Thomas MUGIRANEZA.I do notknow what happenedto flac youngman, but I thinkhe waskilled.

In June,Emmanuel MUSONERA’s wife was hiding at thepdests" residence. The soldiers cameto my bousea/ter seeing the lady’s car parked in mycompound. They wanted to take thecar. At the saine time, four lnterahamwe (armed with machetes and knives) came to rriy houseand asked for the woman’s whereabouts. I told them I didnot know where she was. In flaemeantime, the priests were watching what was happening. They rang me andasked whatto do,for the lady was in their bouse. I askedflaem to keepcalm and reassured them flaatI wouldhandle the situation. However, someone overheard the conversation andthe soldierswent to the priests’ house to pick the lady. As they came out, I askedone soldier: "Whatdo you wantfrom the woman?".They wanted the car andmoney. The lnterahamwe wantedto kill ber. I reassuredthe lady and I gave50,000 francs to the lnterahamwe andthe soldiersleft with the car. The lady stayed in my house and I helpedber cross the border to Zaireduring the night.

My twobrothers I memioned above died during the war.

Thisstatemem was readto me by investigatorJean BASTRACHE, in the presenclbf RejeanTREMBLAY. I signed it freelyand voluntarily, without duress or promise,Well awarethat it may be used in evidence against me.

Signedin Nairobi,Kenya, on 3 February1998.

Omar SERUSHAGO

Jean BASTRACHE Rejean TREMBLAY

K005-2406- K005-2413 Translatedffom the French 8 t L! . Ko~ 844s3

UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES ., InternationalCriminal Tribunal for Rwanda Tribunalpénal international pour le Rwanda

WITNESS STATEMENT Dateof interview:16, 17 and19 June2001

Placeof interview:Annex of theArnsha Detention Facility

Languageused in interview:French

Name of interviewers(s):Martin SEUTCHEU

Otherpersons present dttring the interview: Don Webster

Naineofinterpreters usedin the interview:

I: IDENTIFICATION OF WITNESS

1) Last Name: SERUSHAGO FirstName: Omar Nickname: 2) Dateofbirth: 24 April 1961 Age: Sex: M 3)Religion:Moslem

4)Nationality:Rwandan

5)Ethnicorigin:

6)Occupation: In April1994: Trader Current:Detainee at ICTR

K0184062 Translated from the French K01 844 54

7) Address:

Placeof birth Current In April1994 Mweya Cellule: Cellule: Cellule: "Corniche" ,,,,,

Secteur: Gisenyi Secteur: Secteur: Gisenyi

Commune." Rubavu Commune Commune: Rubavu

Préfecture:Gisenyi Préfecture: PréfectureGisenyi

8)Parents: Mother: Amina MUKAMUSONI Father:Faïzi SINABYAYE

9) Maritalstatus: Married Name of spouse:Pauline MUREKATETE Numberofchildren: Six

10) Language(s)spoken: Kinyarwanda, French, Swahili and Lingala

11) Language(s)written: Kinyarwanda, French and Swahili

12)Pastresidence outside Rwanda: Period: Country:Reason: Remarks:

13)Member of social or political association: Name: Function: Period: Remarks:

14)Name and address of a friend,relative or acquaintance: Name: Address: Relationship:

K0184062Translated from the French K01 844 55

I havemet with the investigators of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda severaltimes and I havealready given them several verbal and signed written statements. Theinvestigators in the Office of the Prosecutor requested meto providefurther details aboutcertain aspects of my previousstatements. I hereby fumish further information in responsetothe questions put to me by the investigators.

I knowPromis ZIGIRANYIRAZO well; he was alsocalled Mr. Z. Bothof us hailfrom Bushiru,which is also PresidentHABYARIMANA’s native region. Our parents maintainedvery cordial relations and I rememberthat his father [Gervais MAGERA] wantedme to convertto Catholicism.Mr.Z wasalso my neighbourin Gisenyias oneof hishouses was near mine and notfar from the "Corniche" customs post. It wasquite closeto theZaire border. I recallthat his house was guarded by someelements of the PresidentialGuard (in 1994). He wasconsidered as one of themost influential people Rwanda.It must be noted that as thebrother of the President’s wife, he belonged to the "AKAZU",the hardcore of power.His influencewas predominant,even in Gisenyi, where Colonel NSEGIYUMVA was the commandant de place. Protais ZIGIRANYIRAZOwielded considerable financial and politicalpower. It wasgenerally acknowledgedthat he hada sayin theappointment of members of governmentand senior militaryofficers. People in Gisenyiwere of theopinion that Colonel NSEGIYUMVA owedhim his appointment tohead that military region.

Duringthe 1994events in Rwanda,I was in chargeof theroadblock mounted at the border,between Gisenyi and Zaire. It wasone of themost important roadblocks, if not themost important inGisenyi because those who wanted to go toZaire had to cross it. It wascalled the "Corniche" roadblock. The purpose of erectingthat roadblock was to spot the Tutsisand moderateHutus deemed accomplices of the RPFand preventthem from fleeinginto Zaire. I waspermanently at that roadblock where The Tutsis and moderate Hutuswere monitored da), and night.People were not killedat thatroadblock. Wheneveran enemywas spotted, my peopleand I ledhim toa placeknown as the ’red commune’for execution. The red communewas in facta cemeterysituated behind the Umugandastadium, in Rubavucommune. The placewas calledred communebecause bloodwas shedthere. I do believethat Colonel NSEGIYUMVA himself coined the appellation(red commune). If I rememberrightly, he usedthis terre at a meeting organisedatthe military camp in the night of 6 breaking7 April. I didnot attend the meeting,but BernardMUNYAGISHARI and ThomasMUGIRANEZA told me aboutit. Itwas a deviousstratagem, asthey were going to tell the Tutsis that their identity was , beingascertained at the roadblock [or elsewhere inGisenyi town] so as to takethem to thecommune office for their protection. However, the intention was in fact to takethem tothe cemetery and execute them. To us theInterahamwe, themeaning of theexpression was clear:the red commune denoted a placefor shedding blood. Generally orders to detectand killthe Tutsis and moderate Hutus came from Colonel NSEGIYUMVA.

I recallthat in lateJune 1994, when the interim govemment had moved its headquarters to Gisenyi,Mr. Z cameto out roadblock. It must be notedthat his residence was just by theimmigration post at theZaire border, slightly behind the roadblock. Initially, he

K0184062Translated from the French wouldask us to workwell, and encourage us to forgeahead, work efficiently; meaning thatwe mustkill the Tutsis. At thattime, the RTLM [from Kigali up to thetime they movedto Gisenyi]put out a bulletinon StanislasSIMBIZI, citing his narneand furnishinginformation to facilitate his identification. Other persons such as Enoch KAYONDE,Vicky (BAGOSORA’s son), Benjamin and his brotherGaston (President HABYARIMANA’scousins, being the sons of his uncleNoel MBONABARYI)ail of who were Interahamwe,as wellas otherpeople from Kigaliwamed us thatMr. SIMBIZI,was expected to arriveand must be arrested.Ail those persons slept in my house,except Vicky BAGOSORA. They wereail dressedin militaryattire. Mr. SIMBIZI,a moderate Hutu, was the Director of theschool printing press (IMPRISCO) Kigali.He was accusedof beingan RPF accompliceand he was wanted.On thatday, besidesme, the followingInterahamwe were also present at theroadblock: Hassan, Thomas MUGIRANEZA, Bernard MUNYAGISHARI, Hamis POKU and GAHUTU. SomeCDR partymilitants such as ABUBA,BAHATI and Lionceauwere also present, and so weresome gendarmes, two immigrationofficers (including KAHAYIZA whom wasprotecting, but who fled in lateApril), some customs oftïcers and one Callixte and the"receiver-in- chief" in person.We wereroughly fîfteen in ail.Right now I may baveleft out some of thenames of people who were there.

WhenMr. Stanislas SIMBIZI arrived at theroadblock, he was in a blue-jeanssuit with a badgeshowing President HABYARIMANA’s head pinned on his shirt.I noticedthat when he enteredthe neutralzone because the Préfetof Gisenyi,Dr. Charles ZILIMWABAGABOcame to ask us to removethe roadblockat the sametime Stanislas was going through. I stoppedhim and, almostsimultaneously, Protais ZIGIRANYIRAZOarrived and toldus thatthe individualin questionwas Stanislas SIMBIZI.He orderedus to takehim away and kill him, Considering the influence Mr. Z had,it was out of the questionto disobeyhim. Thomas MUGIRANEZA took Stanislas awayin a blackHiace minibus to thered commune.Some rime later, he returnedto informus thatan lnterahamwenamed KIVENGE, had hackedStanislas to deathwith a machete.[KIVENGE was stationedin the cemeteryto killpersons brought there]. ProtaisZIGIRANYIRAZO was stillpresent at the roadblockwhen Thomas returned to reportSIMBIZrs death. Thomas brought back SIMBIZI’s passport with him. It is worthyof notethat the Préfetof Gisenyi,Dr. CharlesZILIMWABAGABO, was also presentat thebeginning ofthat incident and was angry because he thoughtthat SIMBIZI wasgoing to be killed, seeing that he had been arrested at theroadblock. I date say that thepréfet was against the killings, but ColonelNSEGIYUMVA would tell us thathe (NSEGIYUMVA)had the authoritytogether with his Interahamweand thatwe must obeythem and not the préfet. We werewell aware that we mustobey Lieutenant Colonel NSEGIYUMVAand not the préfet.

I alsorecall that that the Presidential Guard soldiers guarding Mr. Z’s house were under hisorders and killed people in Gisenyi.I know this because one of them,a corporal namedHABIMANA, who wantedto marrymy sisterat thetime, told me thatthey had startedkilling the Tutsisbecause President HABYARIMANA had died.Protais also spenta lotof timein hishouse in Karago[just next to PresidentHABYARIMANA’s] in Bushiru, mouming PresidentHAB¥ARIMANA. Protais also encouragedthe

K0184062Translated from the French K01 84457

Interahamwewho manned the roadblock just next to hishouse in Karagoto killTutsis andmoderate Hutus fleeing the massacres in Kigali.I gotthe information from Mr. Z’s cousin[son of ElieSAGATWA’s younger brother called BUHIRIKE, who was a well- knowntrader in Karagoand treasurerof the lnterahamwethere] while he was with PresidentHABYARIMANA’s cook, a PresidentialGuard corporal called Ananie, but whosesumame I do notremember. I must add that the roadfrom Kigali via Gitarama [throughthe communesof Satinski,Ramba, Gaseke, Giciye, Karago, Mukamira and Gisenyi]was the only practicable route between Kigali and Gisenyi. Ail vehicles were usingthat route at thetime because the road through Ruhengeri had become impassable [becauseof shellingfrom both armies].

It wascommon knowledge that Mr. Z financedthe lnterahamwe at the national level. In Gisenyi,ail the financing and training of theInterahamwe was coordinated by Wellars BANZIand MathiasNYAGASAZA [chairman of the Interahamwein Karago]and it wouldappear that Mr. Z wasin directcontact with them and with Joseph NZIRORERA.

Withregard to meetings and contributions, I recall that a seriesof meetings and deliveries of armsdid takeplace. That was aroundJune 1994, when the interimGovemment was basedin Gisenyi.A meeting was held at theMéridien Hotel [Izuba] in Gisenyi to discuss howto collectfunds from businessmen to purchase arms for fighting the enemy [some othermeetings were held at theMRND building]. It was generally agreed that the arms so obtainedwere to be distdbutedamongst the Interahamweand CDR youths.As a matterof fact,the persons involved in thisfund-raising drive were the saine people who often supportedthe Interahamwe,namely Joseph NZIRORERAand Mathieu NGIRUMPATSE.But it is worth noting that Félicien KABUGA, Augustin NGIRABATWARE,the Minister of planning and Juvénal UWILINGIYIMANA [DirectorGeneral of NationalParks, who was an MRNDmember at nationallevel], were equallyinvolved. Influential businessmen from Gisenyi and other prominent people from Kigalialso attended the meeting. At thattime, in early Jtme 1994, Gisenyi had become thereal centre of powerof theinterim government. Ail the important figures in the countryhad already left Kigali and the interim government had fled from Gitarama and assuch, Giseanyi had become the seat of power in the country.

Anotherimportant meeting was also held at the Méridien hotel in Gisenyi.I think this meetingtook place after the oneI mentionedabove, during which Félicien KABUGA organiseda fund-raising drive for purchasing arms [the meeting during which KABUGA setthe example by makinga specialcontribution]. Themeeting was attended by several membersof the interimgovernment. I recall that NDINDABAHIZI, the Ministerof Financewho was a nativeof Kibuye[who requisitioned govemment vehicles - lorries, tractors,cars, etc. and sold them in Zaireto obtain money for purchasing ammunition], Joseph NZIRORERA,Anatole NSENGIYUMVA, Pierre BASABOSE[owner of a big foreignexchange bureau] and MathieuNGIRUMPATSE ,’tmong others, were present. I am notsure whether Mr. Z attendedthis meeting. I mustsay that I sawMr. Z at the Méridienhotel where he musthave been in contactwith Anatole NSENGIYUMVA and membersof thegovemment. But I am notsure whether he attendedthe meeting on that day,though his presence cannot be ruledout.

K0184062Translated fromthe French Duringthe meeting, there was debate on theissue of purchasing and distributing weapons in orderto launchan attackon Nyange,in Kibuye.The Tutsisin thatarea had vigourouslyresisted the attacks of the Interahamweand the CDRyouths and yet the attackershad been supported by soldiers. The meeting at the Méridien was thus meant to organisethe purchase and distribution of amas and ammunition to theInterahamwe of Gisenyi[and those from Kigali who were.around]so that they go to Nyangein Kibuye préfectureasreinforcements inorder to crush the resistance of the Tutsis. The arms were ferriedin from Goma International Airport in Zaire in trailer-truckswhich were meant to transportbeer, under the escortof Lt. Col.Anatole NSENGIYUMVA. As a matterof fact,whenever the arrns were being brought in, electricity would be switched off between Gomaand Gisenyifor somehours at nightto ensurethey were transported in total darkness."Streamers", a type of weaponsimilar to a grenadeand which produces a huge flameon impact,were delivered. Lt. Col.Anatole NSENGIYUMVA also issued fuel fromthe military camp for the vehicles that transported the Interahamwe to Nyange [and fortravel within Gisenyi]. I also recall that Lt. Col. NSENGIYUMVA gave me fuelfor the ONATRACOMbus I was usingwhenI went around with a megaphonelooking for the Interahamweto be sentto reinforceKigali. At one point,it was Lt. Col. NSENGIYUMVAwho was issuingpermits to carryweapons.

I willbe at the disposal ofthe investigators fromthe Office of the Prosecutor should they requirefurther clarifications onmy previous statements.

Thisdocument contains 09 pages.

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