Genocide survivors got some kind of respite this week when one of the major genocide criminals was handed a life sentence for his crimes by a German court. Onesphore Rwabukombe, the former mayor of Muvumba, masterminded killings of Tutsi civilians in conjunction with people such as Jean Baptiste Gatete and a military officer, Maj. Faustin Ntirikina, during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. While some other Rwandans are on trial for war crimes in Germany, one country that has continuously defied calls to stop harbouring genocide perpetrators is France-which is home to the largest concentration of Genocide suspects, including Maj. Ntirkina. One major lesson Rwanda has demonstrated over the last two decades is that nothing will stand in its way in bringing genocidaires to book. There have been many orchestrated obstacles to belittle the Genocide like overt campaigns to sanitise Genocide suspects, genocide denial and outright promotion of impunity, but it has not deterred the determination to seek justice for the survivors. The progress in apprehending Genocide criminals today is testimony that distractions, whether from hostile media or genocide apologists, have very little effect on the the determination to ensure that Genocide never happens again, and to prevent the the perpetrators still at large from orchestrating what they call the ‘unfinished business of 1994’ . Many genocidares are roaming freely in France and other western capitals. But this freedom can only last long because in the end, justice will prevail. It is a matter of time as harbouring the genocidaires is not sustainable. What countries harbouring wanted genocide perpetrators are doing, is an act of burying their heads in the sand. The truth will surface no matter how long it takes. History will judge such countries harshly when the unwavering spirit of seeking justice for the many survivors prevails.
