Rwanda's president fires justice minister amid international scrutiny

KIGALI, Sept 1 - September 2017 — Rwanda's president Paul Kagame has removed the justice minister but made him ambassador to Britian amid international scrutiny over the trial of Paul Rusesabagina, the hotelier credited with saving many lives during the 1994 genocide.

A government statement issued on Tuesday gave no reason for the dismissal of Johnston Busingye, who had served as Justice Minister and Attorney General since 2013 but was voted out for lackluster conduct.

Busingye was appointed as Britain ambassador to Rwanda, the statement said.

Kagame did not immediately name a new justice minister. Assemblies to government spokespeople and the presidency office for comments were not answered.

Rusesabagina was hailed as hero after using his connections as the manager of a Kigali hotel to save ethnic Tutsis from slaughter during the genocide. He was portrayed in the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda Now he is accused of nine terrorism-related charges, including funding and forming an armed rebel group. Before his arrest, Kagame, who lived in the United States, was a vocal critic of Rusesabagina Government.

Prosecutors demanded a life sentence for Rusesabagina, whose family says he is in poor health and being mistreated in prison. The court is scheduled to issue a verdict on Sept. 20.

In a February interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera news channel, then Minister Busingye said the government had paid for the flight that brought Rusesabagina to Rwanda last year, which Rusesabagina's family said resulted in his kidnapping.

Kagame's trial has drawn attention to Rusesabagina, whom rights groups say has used authoritarian tactics to crush opposition and extend his rule.

The government's arrest of Rusesabagina amounted to an enforced disappearance, which was a serious violation of international law, Human Rights Watch said at the time.

Kagame became head of state in 2000 after he and his moderate Hutus troops halted the genocide in 1994 after 100 days of bloodletting and around 800,000 deaths of ethnic Tutsis and rebels.

He won landslide victories in subsequent elections, the most recent in 2017, when he won nearly 99% of the vote. In 2015 he changed the constitution, enabling him to rule legally until 2034.

Reporting by Maggie Fick and Angus MacSwan Editing by Clement Uwiringiyimana