Accused of acting in Rwanda genocide arrested in South Africa

The most wanted fugitive from the 1994 Rwandan genocide has been arrested in Paarl, South Africa, after decades on the run. Fulgence Kayishema is accused of orchestrating the murder of more than 2,000 Tutsi refugees – women, men, children and the elderly – in the Catholic Church of Nyange. He had been on the run since 2001.

He was captured on Wednesday (24) in a joint operation between South African authorities and UN investigators. When he was arrested, Kayishema initially denied his identity, according to a statement from the UN staff. But at the end of the night he told them, “I’ve been waiting a long time to be arrested.”

Investigators said he used various forged identities and documents to avoid detection. “The arrest was the culmination of an intense, thorough and rigorous investigation,” he told CNN a senior public prosecutor involved in the case.

“Known family members and associates were thoroughly investigated. This eventually led to identifying the right place to search and find the critical intelligence needed.”

“Fulgence Kayishema has been a fugitive for over 20 years. His arrest ensures that he will finally face justice for his alleged crimes,” said Chief Prosecutor Serge Brammertz of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Courts (IRMCT).

“Genocide is the most serious crime known to mankind. The international community has committed itself to ensuring that its perpetrators are prosecuted and punished. This arrest is a tangible demonstration that this commitment does not go away and that justice will be done, no matter how long it takes,” said Brammertz.

At the end of the genocide in July 1994, Kayishema fled to the Democratic Republic of Congo with his wife, children and brother-in-law. After moving to other African countries, he moved to South Africa in 1999 and applied for asylum in Cape Town, using an assumed name.

According to prosecutors, since his arrival in South Africa, he has been able to count on a strong support network, including former Rwandan soldiers, who did everything to hide their activities and whereabouts.

Huge Reward Offered

In recent years, the IRMCT prosecutor has complained about the lack of cooperation from the South African authorities and there have been a number of near misses in Kayishema’s capture. One report describes a failure to arrest Kayishema three years ago.

But on Thursday, Brammertz praised the South African government’s cooperation and support.

The events in Nyanga, Rwanda, were one of the most brutal of the genocide, in which an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed over a period of 90 days.

The court alleges that Kayishema directly participated in the “planning and execution of this massacre”. The indictment says he purchased and distributed gasoline to burn down the church while the refugees were inside. Kayishema and others are also accused of using a bulldozer to bulldoze the church after the fire, while refugees were still inside.

The church’s former priest, Athanase Seromba, was convicted of the massacre in 2006 and sentenced to 15 years in prison, which was later increased to life imprisonment on appeal. Kayishema is due to be indicted on Friday in a Cape Town court.

A reward of up to $5 million has been offered by the US War Crimes Rewards Program for information on Kayishema and other fugitives wanted for carrying out the Rwandan genocide.

With Kayishema’s arrest, the UN is still looking for three more prominent suspects. In 2020, another fugitive was captured in a Paris suburb after more than 20 years on the run.

Félicien Kabuga, “one of the most wanted fugitives in the world”, who would have been one of the protagonists of the genocide, was arrested in a joint operation with the French authorities.

The Rwandan genocide saw Hutu militias and civilians murder large numbers of members of the Tutsi ethnic minority: men, women and children, many of whom had been their neighbors before the start of the conflict.

The killings finally came to an end 100 days later, when Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) troops, led by Paul Kagame, defeated Hutu rebels and took control of the country.