Most desired Suspect in the Rwandan massacre is detained
Investigators claim that Fulgence Kayishema has been hiding out for more than 20 years under a fictitious name.
A former Rwandan police commander who was listed as one of the most wanted fugitives from the 1994 genocide in his own country has been detained in South Africa.
In a collaborative effort with the South African government and UN investigators, Fulgence Kayishema, 62, who is believed to have been missing for more than 20 years, was captured in Paarl on Wednesday.
On April 15, 1994, in the Nyange Catholic Church in the Kivumu hamlet, more than 2,000 Tutsi refugees, including women, children, and the elderly, were murdered. He was charged with this crime by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in 2001.
The tribunal said that Kayishema, a Hutu police inspector at the time, actively took part in the “planning and execution of this massacre.” He reportedly purchased and distributed gasoline to burn down the church while the refugees were inside, as well as using a bulldozer to demolish the building, burying and murdering the victims inside.
Since his indictment, he has eluded capture by using a variety of “aliases and false documents to conceal his identity and presence,” according to the authorities.
“Fulgence Kayishema was on the run for more than 20 years. His detention guarantees that he will ultimately be brought before the law for his alleged offenses, according to a statement from the IRMCT’s head prosecutor, Serge Brammertz.
The IRMCT office said that many nations in Africa and other areas were involved in the operation that resulted in the suspect’s capture. “Three outstanding fugitives” remain to be apprehended after his apprehension, according to the detectives.
“Kayishema’s arrest represents an advancement in the OTP’s (Office of the Prosecutor) plan to apprehend all fugitives still at large who have been charged with genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Five fugitives’ locations have been determined by the OTP Fugitive Tracking Team since 2020, according to the IRMCT.
On May 10, a 66-year-old former military police officer from Rwanda named Philippe Hategekimana was tried in France on charges that he took part in the massacre of 300 Tutsis on Nyamugari Hill and in an assault on Nyabubare Hill, where about 1,000 Tutsis perished during the 100-day genocide.
Brammertz has sworn that the IRMCT would not give up on obtaining justice for the victims and fulfilling its obligation to contribute to a “more just and peaceful future for the Rwandan people.”
The genocide, which took place between April and July 1994, is believed by the UN to have murdered 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
