One of the main defendants for the genocide in Rwanda arrested in South Africa after more than 20 years on the run

Fulgence Kayishemaone of the main defendants for his role in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, who was still on the run, was arrested in South Africa after more than two decades in an unknown location, as confirmed this Thursday by the Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Courts (IRMCT).

The IRMCT said in a statement that the man, who has been on the run since 2001, was arrested in the town of Paarl as part of a joint operation between the agency and South African authorities. Kayishema was accused of orchestrated the murder of almost 2,000 Tutsi refugees in the Catholic church during the genocide.

In 2001, Kayishema was charged with genocide, complicity in genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and crimes against humanity for acts in Kivumu Municipality, Kibuyu Prefecture. The man is suspected of killing more than 2,000 men, women, children and the elderly who sought refuge in the Nyange church, including her direct participation in planning and execution from the slaughterincluding procuring and distributing gasoline to burn down the church with these people inside.

After this attempt failed, Kayishema and others involved in the massacre used a bulldozer to demolish the church, burying the refugees, who died in the rubble. Then, for the next two days, they supervised the transfer of corpses to mass graves.

IRMCT Attorney General Serge Brammertz stressed that Kayishema’s arrest “guarantees that she will finally face justice for her alleged crimes”, before stressing that “genocide is the worst crime known to mankind”. “The international community has undertaken to ensure that those responsible will be tried and punished,” he reminded.

“This arrest is tangible proof that this commitment does not fade and that justice will be servedhowever long it takes,” said Brammertz, who asserted that “the exhaustive investigation that led to his arrest was made possible by the support and cooperation of South Africa,” adding that there was also support from Eswatini, Mozambique, the United States , Canada and the United Kingdom.

In this regard, he stressed that “the Rwandan authorities (…) remain the strongest partners and have provided essential assistance”, before insisting that “Kayishema’s arrest shows once again that justice can be served, regardless of the challenges , through direct cooperation between international and national bodies.”

«Today is a day to reflect on the victims and survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Although 29 years have passed, they still bear the physical and psychological scars of their suffering. My office reaffirms that we will not stop in our efforts to achieve justice on their behalf and will continue to fulfill our mandate to contribute to a more just and peaceful future for the people of Rwanda,” he concluded.

During his escape, Kayishema used various pseudonyms and fake documents to hide her identityreceiving support from relatives and former members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – a rebel armed group founded and composed mainly of Hutus responsible for the genocide – and others who support the genocidal ideology of the Hutu Power Movement.

Eye 800,000 Rwandansthe vast majority of whom are Tutsi and moderate Hutus, were killed by Hutu extremists for about three months in 1994. Even today, mass graves are being discovered, especially since convicts who have served their sentences have provided information about the place where their victims were buried or abandoned.