Arrest warrant to be issued for Genocide fugitive in Holland

The Prosecution has revealed that it will soon issue an arrest warrant for a top Genocide fugitive now hiding in the Netherlands.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010
WANTED: Pierre-Claver Karangwa

The Prosecution has revealed that it will soon issue an arrest warrant for a top Genocide fugitive now hiding in the Netherlands.

The fugitive, a former ex-FAR, Maj. Pierre-Claver Karangwa, 54, is alleged to have been one of the key masterminds in the massacre of thousands during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

"Very soon we will send an international arrest warrant. Investigations are now completel,” Prosecution spokesperson Augustin Nkusi said yesterday.

"He is among those in the first category – he is accused of orchestrating massacres in his home area of Mugina sector, Kamonyi and in Nyamirambo, in Kigali”. Nkusi also revealed that there over 10 other Genocidaires holed up in the Netherlands.

Karangwa, a former chief of army intelligence, is said to have applied for asylum in the Netherlands in 1998 where he relocated with his family.

In 2004, he acquired Dutch citizenship and worked as a municipal security guard in Harderwijk, a small town in the Dutch province of North Holland for three years.

He currently works as a school gatekeeper.

The prosecution maintains that Karangwa is responsible for the mass murder of over 20,000 people in his birthplace Mugina, in the former Gitarama district.

Dozens of witnesses of the Mugina killings, including former Interahamwe militia who participated in the massacre¬s and have been sentenced for it, testified against the former army officer.

"He gave directives to the Interahamwe that he employed in the killings. They have now come out to testify against him,” said Nkusi.

Apart from participating in the massacres, Karangwa is also accused of being responsible for the murder of the Mayor of Mugina who tried to prevent the Genocide.

Gacaca courts in his home area sentenced him in absentia to life in prison.

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