Arusha - The first defence witness to testify before the UN-sponsored war crimes court in Arusha yesterday began giving evidence in the trial of a former mayor accused of genocide in Rwanda.
The independent Radio Agatashya reported that defence lawyers intended to demonstrate to the court that Mr Jean-Paul Akayesu, formerly mayor of Taba in central Rwanda, was not responsible for genocidal killings carried out in 1994.
The court began trying three Hutu defendants at the beginning of the year, following the slaughter of more than half a million minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus.