The analysis of Van Koppen c.s. of the Mpambara case
A team of three students and two experienced legal psychologists from Free University Amsterdam's ‘Reasonable Doubt Project' examined the Joseph Mpambara case. In A Rwandan house ofcards: A labyrinth ofwavering statements, they describe many inconsistencies in the witness testimonies that had led to Mpambara's conviction and life sentence (Bruine et al.
2017). They also questioned the reliability of some witnesses.The research team also concluded that Mpambara's defence lawyer's performance in the first and second instance was “not good.” A file with 29.000 pages is too hard for a sole practitioner to handle. They argued that he emphasised the wrong elements. They characterised his examination of witnesses as irrelevant.
The team continues to suggest that the Dutch government's fear of becoming a safe haven for genocidaires, its desire for good relations with Rwanda, and the time and money it had spent in this case contributed to its determinacy to prove Mpambara's guilt.
The overall conclusion was that a sloppy defence and the political bias of the judges in favour of the government risked the credibility of the verdict.10 In her afterword, Ingabire's and Joseph's new defence lawyer Caroline Buisman concludes that a review of the case is necessary.11
So here is where we are: A UK High Court refuses to extradite genocide suspects to Rwanda because of Rwanda's authoritarian government threatening citizens on UK territory and failing to guarantee fair trials. The Netherlands has extradited two suspects and sentenced Mpambara to life imprisonment based on what legal psychologists labelled as flimsy evidence. Furthermore, critics argue that it is not fair to adjudicate people like Joseph Mpambara in the Netherlands. Dutch authorities want to prove that they are tough on war criminals, defence lawyers do not provide adequate legal representation, and Dutch judges are willing to assume guilt where it does not exist.
The result is that impunity becomes an option. The High Court releases five suspects in the UK, while Joseph Mpambara could become a free man if his verdict is successfully reviewed.