Rwanda’s National Public Prosecution Authority has revealed that the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda host the largest number of fugitives wanted for their role in the 1994 Genocide.
This as the tiny East African country marks the 25th commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
According to the prosecution, DR Congo is home to 372 indicted Genocide suspects and Uganda 260. Malawi has the third largest concentration of Genocide fugitives, with 47.
Together, the three African countries host more Genocide fugitives than all other foreign countries combined.
According to The New Times, Rwanda has in the last 12 years, sent more than 1,000 Genocide indictments to 32 countries in Africa, Europe, North America, and New Zealand.
In Europe, France and Belgium host the largest number of indicted suspects 42 and 39, respectively.
Other regional countries with Genocide fugitives, the prosecution says, include Tanzania, 37, Kenya, 30, and Congo-Brazzaville, which hosts 16 indicted suspects.
The US hosts 23 indicted Genocide suspects, while The Netherlands has 15 on its territory.
Meanwhile, a total of 19 fugitives were returned to Rwanda, through extradition or deportation, by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Uganda, US, Canada, The Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.
As Watchdog reported, five fugitives suspected of taking part in the 1994 Genocide against Tusti are under investigation by war crimes unit of the Metropolitan Police.
The investigation comes after unit received the warrants from Rwanda last year over allegations relating to the genocide 25 years ago.
An estimated 1,000,000 Rwandans died in 100 days of slaughter and ethnic cleansing between April and July 1994.
The force’s war crimes unit, part of the counter-terrorism command, received a referral from Rwandan authorities in January 2018.
It related to five individuals in the UK and allegations of genocide offences in Rwanda dating from around 1994, she said in a statement.
The suspects are; Celestin Mutabaruka, 63, from Kent; Vincent Brown, also known as Vincent Bajinya, 59, from Islington, north London; Celestin Ugirashebuja, 66, from Essex; Charles Munyaneza, 61, from Bedford; and Emmanuel Nteziryayo, from Manchester.
All five deny the allegations against them and involvement in the Genocide.
In July 2017 five men with the same names, all of Hutu ethnicity, had an extradition bid to have them returned to Rwanda blocked by the UK High Court.
At the time judges agreed there was a real risk they would be denied a fair trial if they were returned.
On Sunday, Rwanda and the world marked the 25-year anniversary since more than 1,000,000 people were killed in one of the world’s worst genocides since the Second World War.
Do you have a story in your community or an opinion to share with us: Email us at editorial@watchdoguganda.com
