Theophister Mukakibibi

Sister Theophister (also spelled "Theopister") Mukakibibi is a Rwandan nun convicted by a Gacaca court of genocide for her actions in the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/10/africa/AF_GEN_Rwanda_Genocide.php] . On November 9 2006, she was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for helping Hutu militia kill hundreds of Tutsi who had sought refuge in the hospital at Butare.

The court found that she had expelled from the hospital Tutsi individuals who were hiding there and had denied food to those seeking refuge in the hospital. Mukakibibi claimed she was innocent of the charges. She was the first nun to be convicted by a Gacaca court, though two other nuns (Consolata Mukangango/Sister Gertrude and Julienne Mukabutera/Sister Maria Kisito) had previously been convicted by Belgian courts. Her conviction raised further questions about the complicity of religious leaders in the Rwandan genocide.