Written by Chris Muhizi Minembwe Capital News 8:00am Kigali Rwanda time.
Fulgence Kayishema, a former police officer, has been hiding since 2001, when the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) charged him with genocide for his part in the destruction of the Nyange Catholic Church in Kibuye Prefecture.
A Rwandan man has been detained in South Africa, according to reports from the U.N. war crimes tribunal and the South African police, who are accusing him of directing the murder of some 2,000 Tutsis who were seeking safety in a church during the 1994 genocide.
The arrest, according to Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, conveyed a strong message to anyone who commit crimes similar to Kayishema’s.
“Ending impunity is essential for peace, security, and justice,” he declared in a statement.
Yolande Makolo, a representative for the Rwandan government, tweeted: “Finally” in response to the arrest.
During Rwanda’s genocide, which was planned by an extremist Hutu administration and painstakingly carried out by local authorities and regular residents in the tightly hierarchical society, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutu moderates were slain.
Reuters said.
“Seeing these people arrested brings healing to the survivors,” said Naphtal Ahishakiye, executive secretary of Ibuka, a representative umbrella organization for survivors.
Under the Rewards for Justice Program, Kayishema has been on the U.S. State Department’s wanted list with a $5 million reward.
The Western Cape province’s Paarl grape estate was the site of Kayishema’s Wednesday arrest, according to the Hawks, an elite branch of the South African police force. Kayishema was using the fictitious name Donatien Nibashumba.
In anticipation of his extradition to Rwanda, Kayishema will remain in detention and make an appearance at Bellville Magistrate’s court on Friday, according to the unit.
