Theoneste Bagosora, the so-called mastermind behind the Rwandan genocide has been sentenced to life in prison. The UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Tanzania accused Bagosora of being the king-pin in the Hutu militia which carried out the mass murder. The court also sentenced Protais Zigiranyirazo, known as Mr Z, to 20 years for his part in the genocide. He was accused of being part of a ruling elite which plotted to exterminate the minority Tutsis. The 1994 genocide in the central African nation was the quickest on record with almost a million people being killed.

Using mainly machetes, militiamen from the infamous Hutu Interahmwe butchered more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the 100 day slaughter. After the genocide, Bagosora fled to Cameroon where he was arrested in 1996. Beginning in 2002, his trial lasted five years until mid-2007. The effects of the genocide are still being felt in the region, particularly in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo where many of the Hutu rebels sought refuge.

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