Arusha - A former Rwandan mayor and headmaster, convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity, was sentenced yesterday to three life terms in prison - a punishment the prosecution said was still not long enough.
Jean Paul Akayesu, mayor of Taba commune during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, was described by Judge Laity Kama as being a willing participant in the genocide of up to 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus during the three-month slaughter.
"The chamber is of the opinion that genocide constitutes the crime of crimes," Mr Kama told the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the court established by the UN in northern Tanzania to try the chief suspects of the massacres.