Colonel and subordinates escape death penalty for atrocity at Fizi in
which 62 women were attacked
Associated Press
Tuesday February 22 2011
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/feb/21/congo-rape-trial
A Congolese court has sentenced an army colonel to 20 years in prison,
convicting him of crimes against humanity in the highest-profile
sexual violence case ever prosecuted in a nation in which thousands
are brutally raped each year.
The trial, held in a makeshift courtroom in the lakeside village of
Baraka, marks the first time a commanding officer has been tried for
such a crime.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Lt Col Mutuare Daniel
Kibibi, 46, who was accused of ordering his troops to attack the
village of Fizi on New Year's Day where doctors later treated 62 women
who had been raped. One woman testified that Kibibi had raped her for
40 minutes.
Three of Kibibi's officers received the same sentences. Five others
got lesser terms. One was acquitted and another, a minor, will be
tried in juvenile court.
As the defendants were led away in handcuffs, hundreds of people
jeered at them, booed and shook their fists. Some shouted, "Kibibi!
You thought you could get away with this! Now you are going to jail!"
and "You must pay for your crimes!"
Kibibi, married with eight children, was convicted of four counts of
crimes against humanity but will serve no more than 20 years in
prison. He denies the charges and says the testimony by his bodyguards
was part of a plot to denigrate him.
Kibibi's lawyer Alfred Maisha described his client as a "valiant hero"
who had served in the army since 1984 and had put his life at risk
many times in the defence of the country. Maisha said many of the
troops under Kibibi's command were poorly trained and included former
members of rebel and militia groups.
Witnesses said the soldiers descended upon Fizi after residents killed
a soldier who had been involved in a row with a local shop owner. On
New Year's Day, the soldiers smashed down doors and went from house to
house, pillaging, beating and raping, from 7pm to 6am the following
day.
The 49 who testified will receive up to $10,000 each in government
damages.
Unspecified other damages must be paid for victims' "humiliation,
degradation of their health, social stigmatisation, risk of divorce,
and possibility of HIV," presiding judge Col. Fredy Mukendi ordered.
Rape has long been used as a weapon of war in eastern Congo. More
than 8,000 rapes were reported in 2009.
The victims have even included a month-old baby boy and elderly women,
and even the biggest UN peacekeeping force in the world of 18,000
troops has been unable to end the violence.
The mobile court of military judges and pro bono lawyers that tried
Kibibi and the others was paid for by George Soros' Open Society
Initiative and aided by several agencies including the American Bar
Association, Lawyers Without Borders and the U.N. Mission to Congo.
Activists said they hoped this would serve as a warning.
"Unquestionably, Lt Col Kibibi and his soldiers are more than a little
stunned to find themselves on trial before this groundbreaking
domestic mobile court. If word about the court spreads around the
country, it could have an enormous impact on deterring future crimes,
now that the rule of law is finally being enforced domestically, to at
least some extent," said Kelly D Askin of the Open Society Justice
Initiative [http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice" title="Open
Society Justice Initiative].
Still, arrests and prosecutions for brutal attacks on villages in
eastern Congo are rare. Following the rapes of more than 300 people
last year, the only man to be arrested in the case was handed over by
his fellow fighters.
Military prosecutor Col Laurent Mutata Luaba had demanded death
sentences for Kibibi and the officers accused in the Fizi case and 20-
year sentences for the rank-and-file. He said the men had "behaved
like wild beasts," terrorising and attacking the defenceless civilians
they had orders to protect.
Three of Kibibi's officers received the same sentences, and five
others got lesser sentences. One man was acquitted and another, a
minor, will be tried in juvenile court.
Many complained that the sentences handed down were not harsh enough.
"We are happy that this trial has been held, but we are not happy with
the result," said Oscar Muzaliwa, 26. "The sentences are too low.
[They] should be put to death for what they did."
The total number of victims of the New Year's Day rapes will never be
known. The women who testified in court were identified as Female 1 to
Female 49, amid fears for their security and efforts to lessen the
strong social stigma associated with rape in Congo.
The other victims would not testify, fearful of being shunned by their
husbands and community, or of reprisals by the military. Some are
still coming forward ? one elderly victim only emerged on Sunday, her
face still swollen out of shape seven weeks after the attacks.
The 11 men brought to trial were the only ones identified by victims,
but there were more than 100 soldiers at the Fizi camp on New Year's
Day and many remain in the area.
"We are very fearful," one woman said as she nursed her baby. "Most of
the rapists are still right here in our village. If we go to the river
for water, we get raped; if we go to the fields for food, we get
raped; if we go to the market to sell our goods, we get raped. Our
lives are filled with danger. There is no peace."
guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2011
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