Rwanda, Kenya extradition treaty to be signed tomorrow

KIGALI - Rwanda’s diplomatic relations with Kenya will grow a notch stronger when the Attorney Generals of both countries sign an extradition treaty on Wednesday, The New Times reports. Members from both offices are currently meeting in Kigali to iron out any upcoming queries before the respective Attorney Generals append their signatures on the treaty. Rwanda’s Assistant Attorney General; Isabelle Karihangabo, said that the meeting is a result of discussions between the two countries that have been on-going for the last two years. “These discussions are a result of consultations between both countries following proposals we presented to their government to comment, modify and make recommendations before the signing,” she said. The discussions will among others discuss a list of 85 crimes that will fall under this agreement. James Mungai Warui, who is the principal state counsel and head of the delegation, said that the meeting would share views from both sides and come up with something mutually agreeable before the historical signing. Rwanda has been pursuing countries all over the world to sign the treaties owing mainly to the fact that the non-existence of such treaties with several countries has been a stumbling block in extraditing genocide fugitives spread across the world. By June this year, several African countries had reached an advanced stage of negotiations for extradition treaties with Rwanda. They include Zambia, Malawi, South Africa and Burundi among others. Rwanda is also seeking to renew the treaty with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which is now home to thousands of genocide suspects. The Spokesman for the prosecution; Augustin Nkusi, told The New Times last week that securing the extradition treaty with Kenya will be a major boost to efforts to track down suspects, especially those responsible for the 1994 Genocide. Rwanda’s prosecution has previously made requests for extradition of suspects in different countries, some have even been put on Interpol Red Notice but the major impediment has been lack of extradition treaties with host countries. Ends

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Rwanda, Kenya extradition treaty to be signed tomorrow