Rwandan ‘genocide banker’ on trial in Belgium

Just a few minutes into the trial it was decided to postpone because the defendant was allegedly sick. It is not yet clear when the trial will resume.

Ephrem Nkezabera was the director of Rwanda’s bank of commerce. He has admitted to having made funds widely available from the bank to finance the extreme Hutu militias during the genocide in Rwanda. He is also alleged to have delivered arms to the militias. He was the founder of Radio Milles Collines which broadcast hate messages and called on people to kill the Tutsi minority in the country.

Nkezabera, now 57 years old, fled to Congo after the change of power in Rwanda. From there he fled to the Netherlands. In 2004 he was arrested in Brussels when he was here visiting a family member.

An estimated 800,000 people were murdered during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Most of the victims belonged to the Tutsi minority; many moderate Hutus were also murdered. In thee arly stages of the genocide 10 Belgian paratroopers were murdered by Hutu gangs.

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