1. Pasteur Bizimungu joined the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front rebel group against Habyarimana in 1990 following the death of his brother seemingly under the orders of Habyarimana's government.
14 Facts About Pasteur Bizimungu
1. 2.
In 2004, Pasteur Bizimungu was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for attempting to form a militia, inciting violence, and embezzlement, but was pardoned three years later by Kagame.
3.
Pasteur Bizimungu served as President of Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.
4.
Pasteur Bizimungu lived in exile in Belgium, serving as the party's information officer.
5.
Pasteur Bizimungu soon found himself in conflict with Kagame over what Pasteur Bizimungu argued was unjustified repression of dissent.
6.
Pasteur Bizimungu resigned in March 2000 in a dispute over the make-up of a new cabinet, and Kagame became president.
7.
Weeks before Pasteur Bizimungu resigned, his adviser, Assiel Kabera, was killed outside his home by men in military uniforms.
8.
In May 2001, Pasteur Bizimungu founded a new political party, the Party for Democratic Renewal, known as Ubuyanja in Kinyarwanda.
9.
Pasteur Bizimungu was arrested, and Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience.
10.
Pasteur Bizimungu was placed under house arrest for continuing the operations of the party on 19 April 2002 and charged with endangering the state.
11.
Pasteur Bizimungu received a five-year sentence for each of these convictions, which were to run consecutively.
12.
On 17 February 2006, Pasteur Bizimungu's appeal, based on the fact that he was convicted of crimes different from those with which he was initially charged, was denied by the Supreme Court.
13.
Pasteur Bizimungu was released on 6 April 2007, having been pardoned by Kagame.
14.
Pasteur Bizimungu has one son, and two daughters, Alexander Tabara, Nicole Tamara, and Carine Cyuzuzo.