MP Uwamariya calls for revoking medical licenses of genocide-perpetrating doctors

By The Inspirer.

Member of the Rwandan Parliament, Vénéranda Uwamariya, has called for the revocation of medical licenses and prosecution of doctors who took part in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, particularly those currently living abroad.

MP Uwamariya raised this concern during the 31st commemoration of the Genocide against the Tutsi held at the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB).

Doctors, nurses, and midwives who held leadership positions at CHUB played a significant role in planning and executing the genocide, where over 300 patients and caregivers were killed within the hospital premises.

Among the cited examples is Dr. Jean Berchimas Nshimyumuremyi, former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Rwanda, who was heavily involved in organizing killings, including the formation of a so-called “Security Support Committee” intended to aid the Interahamwe militia.

He was implicated in the murder of key leaders like Dr. Jean Baptiste Habyarimana, then Prefect of Butare, and collaborated with other CHUB doctors in executing the killings.

Another is Dr. Sosthène Munyemana, a university lecturer and CHUB doctor, who was convicted of genocide crimes in France and sentenced to 24 years in prison. In 2007, a Gacaca court in Rwanda had sentenced him to 30 years for killings committed in CHUB and in Tumba, where he murdered women and children.

Also mentioned is Dr. Théodore Sindikubwabo, former President of the interim government during the Genocide and a pediatrician. He is known for convening a meeting on April 21, 1994, at CHUB with Hutu doctors, instructing them to use medical knowledge to kill Tutsi—such as pointing out vulnerable parts of the body to strike for quick death—and even training the Interahamwe on these methods.

Dr. Gatera, an orthopedic doctor, reportedly used poisonous gas (formalin) to expose Tutsi hiding in a forest near CHUB, leading to their deaths.

Another doctor involved was Dr. Jotham Nshimyumukiza, the hospital director at the time, who was convicted of genocide crimes including killing patients, doctors, and midwives under his supervision. He is known to have informed ESO soldiers that a nurse named Jean Claude Karekezi was Tutsi, leading to his execution in front of patients.

Given these historical facts, MP Vénéranda Uwamariya urged that these perpetrators, still at large and practicing abroad, be tracked down and stripped of their medical licenses.

“Those not yet apprehended should be banned from practicing medicine and removed from the list of licensed doctors. They must be brought before justice so that the victims and their families can receive the justice they deserve,” she said.

Records indicate that at least 60 doctors and nurses who worked at CHUB participated in the Genocide, both within the hospital, in Butare city, and its surroundings.

Members of the security organs laid wreaths at the gravesite.

MP Vénéranda Uwamariya lays a wreath at the UR-Huye memorial site, where victims of the Genocide are buried, including those from CHUB.

The Acting Director General of CHUB Hospital, Dr. Ngarambe Christian, stated that today’s doctors are committed to filling the gap left by those who were involved in the Genocide.

Witnesses recalled the horrors they experienced when they sought refuge at CHUB Hospital.