Protais Zigiranyirazo

Protais Zigiranyirazo
Born (1938-02-02) 2 February 1938 (age 86)
Giciye commune Rwanda-Urundi
NationalityRwanda
Other namesMr Z
Alma materUniversité du Québec à Montréal
OccupationPolitician
RelativesAgathe Habyarimana (sister)

Protais Zigiranyirazo (born 2 February 1938) commonly known as Monsieur Zed ("Mr. Z"), is a Rwandan businessman and politician and was governor of the Ruhengeri prefecture in northwestern Rwanda from 1974 to 1989. Zigiranyirazo was a member of the Akazu, an elite circle of relatives and friends of former President Juvénal Habyarimana who pushed the Hutu Power ideology.[1]

Accused of war crimes during the Rwandan genocide of 1994, he was ultimately acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, after spending six years in prison.

  1. ^ Des Forges, Alison (March 1999). Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda – History → The Army, the Church and the Akazu. New York: Human Rights Watch. ISBN 1-56432-171-1.