It’s time up for Genocide fugitives

The gesture by the Ugandan judicial authorities to extradite to Rwanda Augustin Nkundabazungu, a prominent genocide fugitive is yet another indication that the world is becoming smaller for the criminal responsible for the killing of over one million innocent Tutsi in 1994.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

The gesture by the Ugandan judicial authorities to extradite to Rwanda Augustin Nkundabazungu, a prominent genocide fugitive is yet another indication that the world is becoming smaller for the criminal responsible for the killing of over one million innocent Tutsi in 1994.

Nkundabazungu is a key fugitive wanted for his role in the killings in the former Murambi commune, killings he executed while closely working with notorious Jean Baptiste Gatete, the former mayor who is currently on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).

Sixteen years after the Genocide, some of the major masterminds have remained at large, mainly, using the money they looted during the genocide, which has facilitated their run across the world as they try to evade the long arm of the law.

He is the second person in a few months to be arrested and extradited from Uganda, after Jean Bosco Uwinkindi, another suspect who was arrested and transferred to the ICTR which had issued his warrant of arrest.

These arrests, together with others that we have witnessed from different parts of the world, much as they have taken long, send a clear signal that sooner than later, all those implicated will be brought to book.

Other countries, especially in Africa, should emulate these examples, instead of continuing to serve as business hubs for some of these fugitives.

Ends