Taba commune Taba commune Taba is a commune located in the historic Gitarama Prefecture of Rwanda. During the Rwandan genocide in 1994 massacres and atrocities were committed in Taba. The Hutu Interahamwe militia murdered hundreds of Tutsi and Tutsi women were raped in government offices. The mayor of Taba, at the time of the atrocities, was Jean Paul Akayesu. Akayesu was the first person convicted of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). After the genocide (ASOFERWA) built a "Peace Village" in Taba. The ICTR contributed 15% of the needed budget to build the 23 houses of the "Peace Village".
Hotel Rwanda President Juvénal Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down. Following that incident, the genocide began. Hutu extremists belonging to the Interahamwe militia launched plans to destroy the entire Tutsi civilian population. Tutsi and people suspected of being Tutsi were killed in their homes and as they tried to flee the country. It is estimated that some 200,000 people participated in the perpetration of the Rwandan genocide. Hotelier Paul Rusesabagina of the Belgian owned luxury Hôtel des Mille Collines, used his power and influence to personally save both Tutsi and Hutu refugees. Rusesabagina regularly bribed Rwandan Hutu soldiers and kept militias outside