Venant Rutunga, a Genocide suspect who was extradited from The Netherlands last month will be arraigned in court on Thursday, August 12 to be charged. He is due to appear before Kicukiro Primary Court which is located in Kagarama Sector in Kicukiro District. The 72-year old is a former Regional Director of the Rwanda Agricultural Research Institute (ISAR-Rubona), a Huye-based institution that was in charge of agricultural research in 1994 when the Genocide against the Tutsi broke out. It is alleged that at the start of the Genocide, he alerted the Interahamwe militia and government soldiers that more than 1,000 Tutsi were taking refuge at ISAR Rubona – the institution he was leading. The soldiers came in and killed the people, according to survivors’ reports. Rutunga, alongside Charles Ndereyehe Ntahontuye, the former ISAR head, are said to have been at the forefront of the killings that took place in Rubona village, (current Ruhashya sector) in Huye district. Ndereyehe, who is also being sought by prosecution over genocide charges, is also said to be in The Netheroands. Rutunga is charged with three crimes: playing a role in genocide, complicity in murder and crimes against humanity. The two are also accused of having used their authority and influence as well as ISAR’s resources to communicate with other institutions, including the Gendarmerie of Butare where Tutsis were hiding. Rutunga is the third person to be extradited from The Netherlands. The country has previously extradited Jean Baptiste Mugimba and Jean Claude Iyamuremye who were both sent back to Rwanda in November 2016. Mugimba’s trial is still ongoing while Iyamuremye was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Other genocide suspects have been domestically tried by Dutch authorities. These include Joseph Mpambara who was convicted for a life sentence in 2011 and Yvonne Basebya who was convicted of the crime of incitement to commit genocide for six years and eight months. According to available information, The Netherlands has received 18 indictments from Rwanda concerning genocide fugitives that are hiding there, but twelve are yet to be answered to.
