Fulgence Kayishema is said to have staged the murder of about 2,000 Tutsi . refugees at Nyange Catholic Church in time 1994 Tutsis genocide in RwandaThe international residual mechanism for criminal courts (IRMCT) say in statement.
He was arrested in South Africa on Wednesday in a joint operation between the Prosecutor’s Office IRMCT and the authorities.
Finally face justice
Kayishema has been around since 2001 and is one of only four fugitives left after the genocide, during which one an estimated one million people were killedand about 150,000 to 250,000 women were raped over a period of about 100 days.
IRMCT Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said his arrest ensures the longtime fugitive will eventually face justice for his alleged crimes.
“Genocide is the most serious crime known to mankind. The international community has committed to ensuring that perpetrators are prosecuted and punished. This arrest is a clear demonstration that this commitment does not fade and that justice will be served, no matter how long it takes,” he added.
International Partnership for Justice
Mr Brammertz said the thorough investigation leading up to the arrest was made possible with the support and cooperation of South Africa and the Operations Task Force set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa to support the ICMRT. Defective tracking team.
They also get “critical support” from similar Task Forces in other African countries, especially Eswatini and Mozambique.
“Rwandan government under the leadership of Prosecutor General Aimable Havugiyaremye continue to be our strongest partner and provide the necessary support,” he said.
The chief prosecutor also cited support from other countries, including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, saying that “Kayishema’s arrest once again demonstrates that justice can be ensured, regardless of challenges, through direct cooperation between national and international law enforcement agencies.”
The IRMCT performs essential functions previously performed by the United Nations International Criminal Court for Rwanda (ICTR), which closed in December 2015, and another for the former Yugoslavia, ending ended two years later.
Kayishema was indicted by a Rwandan court in 2001.
He was charged with genocide, complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and crimes against humanity for murder and other crimes committed in Kivumu commune, Kibuye province, during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda.
According to the indictment, he and other accomplices murdered more than 2,000 refugees – men, women, the elderly and children – at Nyange Church in Kivumu commune on April 15, 1994.
He was “directly involved in the execution planning” of the massacre, working methodically for the next two days to transfer corpses to mass graves.
‘Go one step further’
The arrest marks “a further step forward” in efforts to prosecute all fugitives still on the run who have been prosecuted by ICTR.
As of 2020, the OTP Defector Watch Group has accounted for a total of five of the defectors, including another architect of the genocide orchestrated by the Hutu extremist regime in at that time, Félicien Kabuga, as well as Augustin Bizimana, Protais Mpiranya, and Phéneas Munyarugarama. Current only three fugitives stand out.
