Government seeks appeal in UK Genocide fugitives case

The government will push for an appeal against a decision by a UK court to block the extradition of five Genocide suspects, to face charges against them before Rwandan courts. On Tuesday, a district judge in a London Magistrate’s court ruled against the extradition of the suspects, on grounds of likely unfair justice should they be deported to Rwanda. The suspects are Vincent Bajinya, a medical doctor; Celestin Mutabaruka, a Pentecostal pastor, as well as Celestin Ugirashebuja, Charles Munyaneza and Emmanuel Nteziryayo all former mayors, then called bourgmestre, during the Genocide. Speaking to The New Times, Prosecutor-General Richard Muhumuza expressed frustrations over the court ruling saying the government will continue pushing to ensure the suspects get their day in court. “We are very disappointed by the decision but we will continue to fight for their extradition by pursuing appeals in higher courts,” he said. While the government issued arrest warrants since 2006 and extradition requests for the fugitives to be extradited and face trial where crimes were committed, the UK judiciary has repetitively opposed the extradition in what Rwanda calls lack of political will. Muhumuza said it was unfortunate that the UK court had provided an easy escape route or an unwarranted respite to such high level suspects from which the UK Crown Prosecution service prosecuted the case in the absence of the Rwandan government. “Regarding this particular judgment, my view is the Crown Prosecution (of UK) should appeal; hopefully, the appellate court will separate evidence from politics, distinguish hearsay from facts and properly evaluate evidence. The judge in the case seems to have been challenged in these areas,” Muhumuza added. UK defends position On the other hand, William Gelling, British high commissioner to Rwanda, said despite the courts’ independence, the UK government’s position supports the motion of extraditing all genocidaires to face charges in Rwanda. “The matter is now in the hands of the court although there will be an immediate appeal and the British Prosecutor General will work on the case on behalf of the Government of Rwanda,” Gelling said. “The British government supports the idea that all Genocide suspects residing on their soil, including the five suspects, be extradited to Rwanda to face charges where crimes were committed.” Ibuka, an umbrella organisation of Genocide survivors associations, equally slammed the decision by the UK court, saying “such behaviour was despicable and patronising.” “The country has proven itself on the international standards of a fair justice system, we have abolished the death penalty, suspects get required legal assistance and the conditions in prisons are conducive, why can’t they send these suspects,” said Jean-Pierre Dusingizemungu, the president of Ibuka. He said denial to send perpetrators to face trial in Rwanda was a hindrance to the country’s journey of unity and reconciliation which has helped the country’s fast reconstitution and a steady nation building. “It is all about lack of political will, although others have shown trust in Rwanda’s ability for a fair justice, for example the recently closed International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda had acknowledged the country’s strong justice system, but sooner or later the truth will reveal itself,” Dusingizemungu added. The suspects and their crimes Vincent Bajinya, who in 1994 headed the country’s population service, is accused of coordinating killings in the capital of Kigali. Prior to his arrest, the suspect, who had changed his name to Vincent Brown as a way to disguise himself, sought asylum in the United Kingdom where he worked for several years as a doctor for Praxis, a mutual help organisation for refugees based in London. He was later suspended from his job. Mutabaruka, a 56-year-old pastor, is equally accused of leading Interahamwe militia that conducted several vicious attacks on Tutsi. Specifically, he is accused of leading an attack on a church in April 1994 in which 20,000 Tutsi refugees were killed. He was arrested previously in 2013 in the UK town of Ashford in the county of Kent where he and his wife worked as pastors at Fountain Pentecostal Church in Ashford. The other accused, Munyaneza and Nteziryayo, are former mayors in Mudasomwa and Kinyamakara districts in the present Southern Province and are accused of orchestrating mass killings in the southern parts of the country that left hundreds of thousands dead. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Government seeks appeal in UK Genocide fugitives case