Elizaphan Ntakirutimana and his son Gerald Ntakirutimana in December 2005 lost their appeal against conviction handed to them by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , based in Arusha, Tanzania.

Judges at the ICTR confirmed that 47 year old Gerald Ntakirutimana would serve twenty five years in jail for the crime of genocide, while his father, eighty one year-old Elizaphan Ntakirutimana will serve ten years for the crime of aiding and abetting extermination.

The Ntakirutimanas were tried in 2001 on charges of planning and participating in massacres of thousands of Tutsi refugees who sought refuge at the Seventh Day Adventist Complex in Kibuye. This comprises a hospital, a nursing school and a church. Elizaphan was also tried for transporting killers to Bisesero, ten kilometres from Mugonero.

Before the 1994 genocide, Elizaphan Ntakirutimana was a pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church , and the regional church leader for the provinces of Kibuye and Cyangugu. His son Gerald was a medical doctor at the Mugonero Hospital . Throughout their trial, both men insisted they were innocent and claimed testimonies against them were fabricated.

"I am still mourning my friends, my school teachers and the pastors who died in Mugonero”, a weeping Ntakirutimana told judges at the appeal.

"I tell you, I have no blood on my hands and neither does my son. There is no blood on my car, never did I take any attackers to Bisesero, or on my mouth because I betrayed their hiding place to someone. I never did anything like that. I never did it! My son never did it!”

Today, Mugonero is a peaceful place where people go about their activities unhindered.

But Vincent Usabyimfura will never forget the massacres he survived there. He says Elizaphan Ntakirutimana brought and supported attackers whilst his son Gerald actively participated in the killings. A student at the time, Vincent survived by fleeing to Bisesero, where he is now a local councilor.

"My three sisters and three brothers died here, as well as my mother. My dad survived, he left but he ended up dying in Bisesero," Vincent Usabyimfura says.

Tutsis killed at the complex were often thrown into septic tanks. Some of the bodies were burnt or cut into pieces. Today most of the bodies have been exhumed and reburied at a nearby memorial.

At the small memorial building, some of the weapons used by the attackers are still on display. One, a club studded with nails to inflict maximum injury, was called ‘Ntampongano', meaning ‘the one without mercy' .

Gerald Muhayimana was a teacher at the Adventist School during the genocide. Although not a survivor, he witnessed what happened during that time. He says others involved in the attack included Obed Ruzindana, a businessman convicted by the ICTR for his role in the killings.

"Elizaphan was a leader of the Adventist church here and in the larger Cyangugu and Kibuye area, but he lacked the courage to help the people. At the same time his son, Gerald Ntakirutimana was a doctor at the hospital here in Mugonero. How Gerald came to agree with Obed Ruzindana to participate massacring people is hard to understand. It is something very shameful," Gerald Muhayimana says.

Samuel Nsangwa was one of the attackers. He is currently imprisoned in Rwanda . He says he and other young men were rounded up by the mayor, Charles Sikubwabo, and brought to the complex.

"When we got to the hospital the soldiers who were there showed us how to place ourselves, the people had been herded into the church. There were no Tutsis outside. To be honest, I never saw Ntakirutimana or his son. We were many, but I did not see them there. The soldiers and gendarmes launched the attack by shooting through the windows, into the church," Nsangwa says.

In his final statement before the court, Elizaphan Ntakirutimana said he was innocent and pleaded with the court to release him, citing his old age and illness. "I pray that you will have compassion and release me so that I can go home and bid farewell to my family," Ntakirutimana pleaded.

"I thank God I had such good children, but now it seems one of my sons risks to die in jail like me. It seems I will die like a homeless dog. Yet I did nothing. I have lost all my friends, my sisters have been killed, oh... this is so painful," the former pastor said, breaking down into tears.

But the judges were unmoved by that statement. "I turn now to Elizaphan Ntakirutimana, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment. This sentence is maintained”, the presiding judge ruled.

So what do people in Mugonero think of Elizaphan's sentence? "No one can give him the sentence that he deserves. The court gave him a light sentence. But the court and the world acknowledged the Rwanda genocide, acknowledged that Ntakirutimana had a role in what happened and convicted him. However, I don't think any sentence is enough for him. Even the death sentence would never atone for the crimes he committed." Vincent Usabyimana says.

But not everyone agrees. " Frankly, I think their case and the allegations against them were made because they managed to survive, while other colleagues they worked with died. I do not know of any role they had in what happened, or in killing”, Samuel Nsangwa reckons.

Rwanda 's Prosector General, Jean De Dieu Mucyo however says the sentences should have been stiffer. "Ten years is too little. One must bear in mind the job he had, its prominence and influence over the people as well as the consequences. He was a role model; people acted using him as an example. When people saw a pastor doing these things they joined. That sentence is too low," he says.

"Even his son's sentence is too low, especially if you bear in mind what he did. He was a doctor, a highly placed person. When villagers see him do these things what happens?” Jean De Dieu Mucyo asks.

Inside the memorial at Mugonero, lies a wreath of flowers, recently laid. The message reads: “Dear mother, your children remember you always. May you be at rest.”

During the civil war in Rwanda in 1994, military units on both sides of the conflict included women among their ranks. The number of women in combat was 339. They had joined up to fight alongside their men folk.

Rwandan culture honours such women, for example the legendary Ndabaga , who became a warrior, after disguising herself as a boy.

In 2001, a group of Rwandan women, all ex-combatants, chose the name Ndabaga for their self-help association. The idea was to try to bring together female ex-combatants from both sides, to foster development, unity and reconciliation.

This fits with another Rwandan tradition, where women are seen as mediators or peacemakers. That's why some new-born girls are given names like Nyampinga which means ‘solace', or Gahuzamiryango, meaning ‘ family unification'.

“We want to provide solutions to our challenges as Rwandan women regardless of whether we are ex-far, RPF or otherwise. What matters is that many of us have many children to look after, some are single mothers and others are widows. We want to work together to overcome poverty and unemployment”, says the president of Ndabaga, Apophia Batamuliza.

One of the people who have benefited from the association is Jean d' Arc Mukaruyange. She was a member of ex-Far, the army that fought against the forces of the current Government, back in 94.

After she was demobilized she was an unemployed widow with 13 children to look after: four of her own, and nine local orphans.

After 15 years as a soldier, Jean d'Arc didn't know how else to make a living. That is, until she discovered she could make money by typing letters for people who need them.

“I was unemployed and discouraged at the time. But as we talked to each other about our problems, one of the members of the association called Odette gave me a type writer. I can meet my family needs. I don't know how to put it but we can now afford to eat and drink”, tells Jeanne d'Arc.

She earns FRW 2000-3000 a day depending on the number of clients she gets. That's about seven US dollars and enough to send her children to school plus other basic needs.

“Before mother joined the association we were in a very bad condition. In most cases we would go without food, but after she joined we went back to school. We even have enough food to eat it is not like before”, Jeanne's eldest son, Ishmael says.

Eric Bizumutima is one of the nine local orphans' Jean d'Arc's looks after. For Eric, she is the parent he lost. “Before mother joined Ndabaga association the situation was very bad at home. We would go hungry for days”, says Eric.

But thanks to Ndabaga, it seems those days are gone. “If I was a man I would climb up the highest building and proclaim the benefits of Ndabaga. The association has done more than I ever expected”, adds Jeanne.

Joyce Ndera was a soldier in the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF), but resigned when she could no longer support her child. She says the father of her child was a high ranking military officer. “ After I gave birth this man tried to cover up what happened by renting a house for me because he did not want to be embarrassed, and went a head and married another woman”, reveals Joyce.

“I took my son to my mother but she could not do much because she was also helpless. By the time I came to Ndabaga I was almost giving up on life”, she says.

Thanks to Ndabaga, Joyce was given a job in Nyanza where the association had won a business tender to supply milk. She earns forty three thousand francs per month about eighty US dollars. “With this money I am able to pay my house rent, take my child to school and provide for my other family needs”, adds Joyce.

10 members of Ndabaga are now employed at the milk processing plant.

Ndabaga plans to combine any profits they make and share them out to provide loans to members, keen to set up new projects.

To help boost income, they are launching an internet cafe soon, in the Kimironko area in Kigali . Other activities have started in Nyanza and Butare.

Jean D'Arc says in this way, the women overcome poverty and also build reconciliation. “Some of us were not willing to let go of our ideologies, but since we came together things changed. We now have a common cause. Before we met our counterparts from RDF we used to think that we were the only female ex-combatants but we are now pleased with each other”, tells Jeanne.

The Chairman of the Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, Jean Sayinzoga, believes all Rwandans could learn a lesson from the women of Ndabaga. “Women are the primary educators in the family setting. Mothers spend more hours with their children at home than fathers do. Therefore when unity and reconciliation is spearheaded by women it is more effective. Ndabaga is a strong pillar and symbol for unity among Rwandans”, says Sayinzoga.

Donna Gasana is in charge of peace and good governance at the United Nations Development fund for Women (UNIFEM). She believes Ndabaga has great potential for more good work. “This is the real peace work we normally talk about and it works very well with women. When we talk about peace work especially in Rwanda we are saying that all people from all sectors should work together for reconstruction and reconciliation and Ndabaga having been started by women who were predominately from RDF and at a later stage incorporated women from ex-far and militias is a big step towards reconciliation”, notes Donna.

The Director General of the Rwanda 's National Unity and Reconciliation Commission, Innocent Nkurunziza says the fact that Ndabaga creates work and wealth is perhaps the key to its success. “Unity and Reconciliation is more than bringing differing people together. Reconciliation in the Rwanda context is when people work together for a common cause. It is when individual and collective rights are respected. It is when all people have equal opportunities without any form of discrimination” says Innocent.

When asked whether UNIFEM as part of the UN body would consider involving women in peace keeping missions, Donna eagerly responded: “That is our dream. We really think that women during conflict and after conflict have specific issues that have to be addressed, especially issues of gender based violence and we are convinced that women in conflict wish to have fellow women who know exactly what women face and what they want and what their needs are during peace keeping missions.”

Such comments open all sorts of new work possibilities for the women of Ndabaga. That's because apart from promoting development among its members, the Association also advocates for the rights of serving female combatants who face numerous challenges compared to their male counterparts. “The nature of a woman in itself poses a challenge. The logistics during times of war do not cater for the specific needs of women. For example there are no provisions made for women during their monthly cycles. This a small, but very sensitive issue”, highlights Sayinzoga.

She argues that even when women are NOT involved in actual battle, they are still the prime targets. “The consequences of conflict hit women and children hardest. Men often run away in times of war leaving women and children exposed to danger. Worse still women are the number one victims of rape during such times”, she indicated .

So, might the women of Ndabaga one day help out on UN peacekeeping missions? Why not? These days, any job offer is too good to miss! Plus, it's likely they have the expertise …

“It would be very good if women like us who have first hand experience of how destructive war is and its effect ton women and children. If we get involved we can help women. The problems women face during conflict can be better by fellow women because women are more open when talking to fellow women”, affirms Apophia .

A Rwandan proverb says: “Those who have nothing to share, call each other greedy”.

Such accusations often lead to discontentment and ultimately conflict. These women know all about that, because they were once soldiers. In the old days, like Ndabaga herself, they proved themselves as warriors.

Today, they are proving that women can also play a crucial part in grassroots economic development, which – they believe - leads to unity and reconciliation. The evidence suggests they are probably right.