The New Times (Kigali)

Rwanda: Maybe the Vatican Should Read Munyeshyaka's Indictment

editorial

One person who seems to have everything going for him is Father Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, former Vicar of St. Famille Catholic Church in Kigali.

Apart from the "mastermind" of the Genocide - Col Theoneste Bagosora - Munyeshyaka's name features prominently among notorious individuals who "shone" during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

The priest won prominence by his menacing stroll among refugees who had sought shelter in the church compound, wearing a flak jacket and a pistol tucked in his belt. His mission was to pick Tutsi girls to rape.

Munyeshyaka's indictment by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) singles out four female refugees raped by the priest. They survived the Genocide and testified to the fact. Countless others witnessed the priest, accompanied by armed militia, selecting those to be killed.

The question that continues to baffle many is; why is he still free? Which Godfather in the Vatican has his back?

Clamour for his arrest finally forced the ICTR to indict him, but this did not deter him from calmly continuing his ministry in some French parish.

The ICTR indicted him in 2005 but he was not arrested yet he was not in hiding. Two years later, in 2007, they washed their hands off him and handed his case to France. It is 2013 and the man is still roaming free, yet to see his day in court.

What hidden advantages has the Vatican seen in Munyeshyaka that overshadow his horrific details in the indictment? The Church will never cease to amaze.

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