The Rwanda High Court handed Jean Bosco Uwinkindi, Pentecostal Church pastor, a life sentence Wednesday for genocide crimes in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsis.

Uwinkindi was convicted of crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the slaughter that saw an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus killed by dominant Hutu forces in 100 days.

This was the third judgement delivered by the Rwandan court on high profile genocide cases in which suspects had been transferred to Rwanda by UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda or extradited by several countries.  

Charles Bandora, a renowned businessman, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in May 2015, while Agnes Ntamabyariro, a former Justice minister, was handed a life verdict in 2009. Both were found guilty of genocide crimes.

Uwinkindi was arrested in Uganda in 2010 and his case was referred to the ICTR in Tanzania before being transferred to Rwanda in April 2012 after the court was disbanded.

He is said to have committed the crimes in the former Kanzenze commune now Bugesera District where he was a pastor at the Kayenzi Pentecostal Church.

The court found Uwinkindi to have participated in meetings which planned the killings of the Tutsis who had sought refuge at his church.

He was also found to have organised and supported killers in collaboration with police officers and local administrators.

The court said the former pastor broke the trust he earned as a clergyman by turning against those who had sought his help and deserved a heavy sentence.

Following the verdict, Uwinkindi said he planned to appeal, saying five ‘major points’ were ignored in trying his case.