Rwabukombe’s trial sends out a strong signal to fugitives

The conviction and subsequent sentencing of Genocide perpetrator Onesphore Rwabukombe by a German court on Tuesday is yet another signal to those who committed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, that they will never evade justice forever. The verdict in Frankfurt and others in other countries like Canada, Norway and other ongoing trials, is a reminder to those still at large that one day they will be held accountable for the atrocities they committed. It is general knowledge that these people, who were in positions of leadership during the Genocide used the loot, both from their victims and government coffers to secure refuge in far-flung countries. It is therefore a matter of time before most of them are apprehended and put through a judicial process that those who survived the atrocities they commanded have for long yearned to see prevail. However, there should not be any kind of doublespeak on the issue of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Bringing to book and handing appropriate sentences to the perpetrators should go in tandem with holding accountable those who have kept alive their dream to complete the ‘work’ left unfinished in 1994. It is the same groups like the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) that have continued to keep ‘the fire burning’. The political leaders of this group have largely remained scot-free, mostly in European countries, where they fundraise for a cause to repeat what they did in 1994. So while those who committed the Genocide like Rwabukombe are brought to book, those who deny it happened and continue to lay ground for more atrocities in Rwanda, should be equally brought to account. RELATED: German court jails ex-Muvumba mayor for Genocide

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Rwabukombe’s trial sends out a strong signal to fugitives