Paul Rusesabagina, the hero of hit movie, ‘Hotel Rwanda’ was nowhere to be found on Wednesday in court as his trial continued in his absence. Rusesabagina who was accused of terrorism and other offenses has said he doesn’t expect justice and is quitting his trial.
His actions were the centerpiece of the 1994 Genocide movie, Hotel Rwanda. He was also accused of starting an armed group that has attacked Rwanda in the past few years with the last attack recorded in 2018.
Rusesabagina, 66, was on exile in Belgium until his arrest. He accused the Rwandan government of kidnapping him as he was promised a move to Burundi, only to find himself in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.
Johnson Busingue, Rwanda’s Minister of Justice admitted last month that the Rwandan government paid for the flight that took Rusesabagina to Kigali.
On the 12rh of March, the court gave him 6 months to prepare his defence but he refused and said his rights to defend himself have been snatched from him.
His family has also said he’s been denied access to more than 5,000 pages of documents showing accusations against him.
Rusesabagina reigned after Hotel Rwanda was written to depict his feat in 1994. He was said to have kept Rwandans in a hotel he managed as the genocide led to the killing of almost 800,000 people.
He has been a staunch critic of Paul Kagame’s government and has accused the President of haunting him for saying the truth.
The Rwandan government has said the movie hero has links with the National Liberation Front (FLN) which has been accused of masterminding attacks on the state in the past. He has since denied this but admitted he got some help from the FLN in the past.