Known as the 'Butcher of Tumba,' Dr. Munyemana was found guilty of participating in killings in the Tumba sector, formerly in Butare prefecture. In December 2023, the Paris Court of Assize sentenced him to 24 years in prison.
The charges that led to his conviction included genocide, crimes against humanity, and complicity in these crimes.
Dr. Munyemana, who worked at Butare hospital and lectured at the Faculty of Medicine at the National University of Rwanda, appealed immediately after the ruling. Throughout his trial, he consistently denied all charges, insisting that he was innocent.
At the time, Richard Gisagara, lawyer for civil parties, explained: 'It is Munyemana's lawyers who filed the appeal because they were not satisfied with the ruling. It is not surprising since their entire defense was based on denying the crimes altogether. They never asked for leniency; instead, they demanded full acquittal.'
Proceedings are set to begin with the appointment of an independent jury on 15 September 2025, before the substantive hearings start the following day. The appeal trial is scheduled to conclude on 24 October 2025.
Background of Dr. Munyemana
According to Rwanda's former National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), Dr. Munyemana was born on 9 October 1955 in Mbare, Musambira Commune, Gitarama Prefecture.
After completing his medical studies at the National University of Rwanda in Butare, he pursued postgraduate training at Bordeaux II University in France, specializing in gynecology and obstetrics.
During the genocide, he lived in Gitwa cell in Tumba. Witnesses testified that he was directly involved in killings there and in other areas such as Butare town.
One witness recalled a meeting on 17 April 1994, chaired by the then sector executive secretary François Bwanakeye, where Dr. Munyemana declared: 'The enemy is among us. I am hosting 15 Hutus from Kigembe who fled after the Inkotanyi entered through Burundi.'
Witnesses further testified that during the genocide he wore military-style attire, carried a spear and later a firearm, and held keys to the Tumba sector offices, where he allegedly imprisoned Tutsi before they were killed.
Dr. Munyemana is also reported to have been a close ally of Jean Kambanda, the former Prime Minister in the so-called interim government of 1994. Kambanda himself admitted his role in the genocide and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
IGIHE
