{{Short description|Rwandan serial killer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox Serial Killer | name = Aloys Tubarimo | victims = 7 | criminal_penalty = Life imprisonment in solitary confinement | criminal_status = Incarcerated | country = Rwanda | states = Bugesera District | targets = Bicycle-taxi drivers | motive = Robbery | conviction = Murder (x7)<br>Theft | apprehended = 26 November 2007 | years_active = 2007 | weapons = Axe<br>Hammer }}
'''Aloys Tubarimo''' is a Rwandan serial killer who murdered seven taxi drivers in the Bugesera district during 2007 to steal their bikes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-03-13 |title=Prosecution wants 'special' life sentence for serial killer |url=https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/44594 |access-date=2022-08-14 |website=The New Times {{!}} Rwanda |language=en}}</ref> He was caught in November of the same year, and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment in solitary confinement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Karimunda |first=Aimé Muyoboke |title=The Death Penalty in Africa: The Path Towards Abolition |publisher=Routledge |year=2016 |isbn=9781317036340 |edition=reprint |pages=194 |language=en}}</ref>
== Early life == Tubarimo, an orphan, was born in the Bugesera district of Rwanda. As a minor, Tubarimo was a perpetrator of the Rwandan Genocide. He was sent to prison for his participation in the genocide, but released in 2003. After his release from prison, he began stealing goats and crops from local farmers, but was arrested several times and sent back to prison.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=solivri |date=2007-12-03 |title=03.12.07 - RWANDA/GENOCIDE - SEVEN PEOPLE KILLED IN FOUR MONTHS BY A YOUNG GÉNOCIDAIRE |url=https://www.justiceinfo.net/en/19512-en-en-031207-rwandagenocide-seven-people-killed-in-four-months-by-a-young-genocidaire1029410294.html |access-date=2022-08-14 |website=JusticeInfo.net |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Murders == Between August and November 2007, Tubarimo murdered seven bicycle-taxi drivers to steal and sell their bikes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-12-05 |title=Prosecution probes serial killer's motive |url=https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/1928 |access-date=2022-08-14 |website=The New Times {{!}} Rwanda |language=en}}</ref> To lure his victims, he paid taxi drivers to drive him to his home. When they arrived at his house, he would offer them a drugged beverage.<ref name=":02" /> If the victim drank the beverage, he waited for them to lose consciousness, and then murdered them with a blunt weapon. After murdering his victims, he buried them in his garden.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date=2008-03-13 |title=Prosecution wants 'special' life sentence for serial killer |url=https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/44594 |access-date=2022-08-14 |website=The New Times {{!}} Rwanda |language=en}}</ref>
Tubarimo would sell the victims' bicycles through his three friends. The first victim's bike sold for Frw12,000, and the subsequent bikes sold for Frw16,000 to Frw18,000.<ref name=":12" />
== Trial == Aloys Tubarimo was arrested on 26 November 2007 after a local alerted authorities about his suspicions towards Tubarimo.<ref name=":02" /> He confessed to the crimes, stating he committed the murders because he couldn't afford seeds and fertilizer to support his family. However, other equally poor residents of the village could.<ref name=":12" /> Tubarimo also confessed that he planned to murder eight people, but he only managed to murder seven.
Tubarimo's trial was held in 2008. Since Rwanda abolished the death penalty the year prior, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in solitary confinement. His lawyer tried to argue that Tubarimo's sentence was unconstitutional, but his argument was dismissed by the judge.<ref>Karimunda, Muyoboke (2011). [https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/bitstream/handle/10379/2228/Final%20Thesis%20Muyoboke%20Karimunda%20The%20Death%20Penalty%20in%20Africa.pdf?sequence=1 ''Death Penalty in Africa''] p. 231</ref> The three friends who helped Tubarimo sell the victims' bikes were also charged with selling stolen property, but claimed that they were unaware that Tubarimo stole the bikes. Their fates are unknown.<ref name=":12" />
== See also ==
* Capital punishment in Rwanda * Rwandan genocide * List of serial killers by country
== References == <references />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tubarimo, Aloys}} Category:Rwandan prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Category:Rwandan people convicted of murder Category:Rwandan people convicted of genocide Category:2007 murders in Africa Category:People from Bugesera District Category:Living people Category:People convicted of murder by Rwanda Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Rwanda Category:Axe murder Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Rwandan serial killers