Genocide fugitive arrested in Malawi

KIGALI - Malawian authorities have arrested Charles Bandora an ex- senior official of the former Rwandan ruling party, MRND, indicted by the Prosecution for Genocide. Bandora, a former businessman in Ngenda, Kigali, faces charges that include; Genocide, complicity in Genocide, conspiracy to commit Genocide, extermination, murder as a crime against humanity and organized crime. According to a well-placed source who preferred to remain anonymous, the suspect was arrested on Tuesday along Malawi’s Devil Street near a building called Mugasa House where he operated businesses. “Yes, he was arrested by the Criminal Intelligence Department (CID) in that house in which he has been conducting his usual businesses. It’s not yet clear where he’s detained now but the fact is that he was arrested,” the official said. By press time, efforts to reach Malawi’s Director of Public Prosecutions Wezi Kayira for a comment over the arrest were futile as repeated calls made, went unanswered. When contacted, the Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga said that he was not yet aware of the arrest. “I have not got any official communication about that,” he said. The arrest comes barely three weeks after Ngoga visited Malawi over the indictments, which still target three other fugitives in the country. Born in 1953 in Gikongoro, Southern Province, Bandora allegedly acted individually and as part of a joint criminal group comprising of members of Forces Armee Rwandese (ex-FAR), Interahamwe militias and authorities of the interim government. The prosecution alleges that the Genocide suspect individually supervised groups which prepared, trained, equipped and organized militias in Ruhuham Gatanga Centre and Ngenda commune in General. “He was a renowned businessman in Ngenda, and he has been doing business in Malawi as well,” the anonymous source added. Malawi was listed by Prosecution last month as among some of the African countries that have rendered little cooperation towards arresting and trying or extraditing indicted fugitives responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Ends

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Genocide fugitive arrested in Malawi