Marcel Gatsinzi is a Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

n soldier and politician, and Rwanda's current Minister of Defence.

An ethnic Hutu

Hutu

The Hutu , or Abahutu, are a Central African people, living mainly in Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo.-Population statistics:The Hutu are the largest of the three peoples in Burundi and Rwanda; according to the United States Central Intelligence Agency, 84% of Rwandans and 85% of Burundians...

 from Butare

Butare

Butare is a city in the Southern Province of Rwanda and capital of Huye district. It was the capital of the former Butare Province, Rwanda, that was dissolved on January 1, 2006....

, Gatsinzi is a former member of the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), which was the national army prior to the conquest of Rwanda by the RPF

Rwandan Patriotic Front

The Rwandan Patriotic Front abbreviated as RPF is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. It governs in a coalition with other parties...

 following the 1994 Rwandan Genocide

Rwandan Genocide

The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...

. At the time of the disbanding of FAR his rank was Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

.

During the genocide, from April 7 to April 17, 1994 he served as Chief of Staff of FAR.

Gatsinzi was appointed Minister of Defence on 15 November 2002, following the removal of Emmanuel Habyarimana

Emmanuel Habyarimana

Emmanuel Habyarimana is a former Rwandan soldier and politician.Habyarimana, an ethnic Hutu, was a former member of the Rwandan Armed Forces in the Hutu-dominated state of Juvénal Habyarimana...

. He currently holds the rank of General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 in the Rwandan Defence Forces

Rwandan Defence Forces

The Rwanda Defence Forces is the national army of Rwanda. Largely composed of former Rwandan Patriotic Army fighters, it comprises The High Command Council of the Rwanda Defence Forces; the General Staff of the Rwanda Defence Forces; the Rwanda Land Force; the Rwanda Air Force; and ...

.

On 17 July 2005, the defence counsel for Théoneste Bagosora

Théoneste Bagosora

Colonel Théoneste Bagosora is a former Rwandan military officer. He is chiefly known for his key role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. And for that, he is sentenced to life imprisonment by the ICTR.-History and career:...

 at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...

 (ICTR) claimed that they had requested that Gatsinzi, along with Senator Augustine Iyamuremye, come to testify at Bagosora's trial. Gatsinzi denied ever having received such a summons to the ICTR, and argued the matter was "lawyer’s tricks to delay the case".