Overview
- Alphonse Rudakubana told the inquiry he intercepted a machete delivered under a false name in June 2023, hid it, and now believes police intervention then could have prevented the attack.
- He said he did not open the package or confront his son because he was frightened, describing himself as ‘conditioned’ to violent outbursts and seeking to keep the peace at home.
- The inquiry heard of further weapons and orders, including a second machete in October 2023 and seeds later linked to ricin, with some items recovered from the family home.
- Rudakubana said he stopped his son taking a taxi a week before the killings because he feared an attack on the former school, and on the day itself hoped his son had only gone for a walk.
- Victims’ families expressed disdain for the parents’ explanations and called for them to be held to account, while the chair’s report is expected by next spring after this phase’s live evidence concluded.