WHERE WILL ARRESTED RWANDA GENOCIDE FUGITIVE BE TRIED?

BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

With the UN Tribunal narrowing down on the list of 'most wanted' fugitives of the Rwanda genocide, the question remain as to where will the recently arrested be tried.

Fulgence Kayishema, alleged to be one of the last remaining four perpetrators of the 1994 killings was arrested in South Africa on last week.

Like few of others still at large, the former judicial police in Rwanda prior to the horrific mass killings, had a $ 5 million bounty on his head.

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), a legal facility based in Arusha, confirmed his arrest but was not explicit on where he will be tried.

Although officials of the Mechanism could not be reached to clarify on the matter, there is little likelihood of the trial taking place in Arusha.

The Mechanism which took over from the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda (ICTR) is likely to wind up its  business sooner or later in the city.

Early this year, IRMCT closed its UN Detention Centre near the Arusha airport where people facing trial for their role in the Rwanda genocide were held.

In 2012, though, the UN Tribunal (ICTR) which has since closed shop) ruled that upon his arrest, Kayishema would be transferred to Rwanda for trial.

His arrest came exactly three years after the arrest of Felicien Kabuga, the alleged mastermind and financier of the killings in May 2020 in a hideout in Paris.

The 89 year old Kabuga is currently on trial in The Netherlands for crimes against humanity and war crimes and related charges after efforts to bring him to Arusha failed.

 

Kayishema was indicted by the ICTR in 2001 and charged with genocide, complicity in genocide and conspirancy to commit genocide, among other crimes.

 

His arrest brings to only three the key suspects of the Rwanda genocide with a $ 5 million bountry on their heads who are still on the run.

They are Aloys Ndimbati,Charles Ryandikayo and Charles Sikubwabo. They are also facing multiple charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Three other major suspects -- Augustin Bizimana, Protais Mpiranya and Pheneas Munyarugarama -- all died of illness in different countries without facing justice.

In reaction to Kayishema's arrest, IRMCT Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said on Thursday that his arrest ensures that he will finally face justice for his alleged crimes.

"Genocide is the most serious crime known to humankind. The international community has committed to ensure that its perpetrators will be prosecuted and punished", he said. 

He added that the fugitive's arrest yet again demonstrated that justice can be secured "no matter the challenges" through direct cooperation between law enforcement agencies of different countries.

In Rwanda, the arrest has been welcomed with the survivors and relatives of the genocide against the Tutsi hoping that the remaining fugitives would be nabbed.

Naphtali Ahishakiye, executive secretary of Ibuka, an umbrella association of genocide survivors, said the arrest "sends a strong message to other fugitives and masterminds of the 1994 genocide... that they can never evade justice forever."

He told journalists in Kigali that Kayishema should be extradited to Rwanda and swiftly put in the dock.

"We hope that his trial is expedited, and that the wheels of justice do not entertain the sorts of delays that the Kabuga trial has experienced," he said.

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