Denmark arrests Genocide suspect

KIGALI - Danish authorities, on Wednesday, arrested one of the most wanted Genocide fugitives, Emmanuel Mbarushimana and immediately arraigned him before court which remanded him for four weeks pending investigation. According to the Danish authorities, Mbarushimana, 48, was denied bail on the basis of his holding multiple identities, which motivated the conclusion that he may evade justice, if released. He is alleged to have changed his name to Emmanuel Kunda. “The court ruled that he stays in jail for 40 days as the investigations continue,” said the spokesman of Prosecution, Augustine Nkusi. He added that Mbarushimana is accused of being the mastermind of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi particularly in the former Butare prefecture, now in the Southern Province. Nkusi, however, added that Rwanda would not request for his extradition but expects a fair trial from the Danish judiciary. Also, sources from Denmark said that one of the reasons why the court decided to remand him is because there was a possibility that he could jeopardize investigations. Mbarushimana was arrested near Roskilde, 25 miles west of Copenhagen, after having lived in Denmark since 2001 and granted asylum. Denmark’s Special International Crimes Office has been investigating several cases involving genocide suspects since its creation in 2002, but so far the probes haven’t led to any convictions. Following Mbarushimana’s arrest, several survivors of the genocide have spoken about his role in the mass massacre on Tutsi in Butare. According to Jean Marie Vianney Rugemintwaza, Mbarushimana played a key role in the mobilising people to kill. “He was involved in the genocide planning meetings with Elie Ndayambaje, the former Mayor of Muganza. He was very active even before the start of genocide in this area, he moved around on a motorcycle mobilising people to set up road blocks where many Tutsis were killed,” said Rugemintwaza. He added that Mbarishimana plotted the killing of his brother in-law, Paul Bideri, who was 10 years old. Bideri was shot dead by a policeman on Mbarushimana’s orders. Another witness, Margarita Mujawamariya accused Mbarushimana of having been part of several Interahamwe militias that killed thousands of Tutsis at Kabuye Hill. “He was my immediate neighbor in Dahwe Cell, he was part of a group that hurled grenades at us, some shot at us before descending on us with machetes,” said Mujawamariya. She added that; “Before being horded to Kabuye Hill, we had tried to flee to neighbouring Burundi but we were forced back by the Interahamwe led by Mbarushimana.” “He was one of the worst Interahamwe this area has ever seen; during the genocide he killed his own people; he could not even spare his in-law,” said Mujawamariya. Another genocide survivor, François Munyaneza said that Mbarushimana was an outspoken figure during the genocide; he was straight forward in his talking where he made it clear that the enemy were the Tutsis. “He attended genocide planning meetings in Ndora, and gave instructions to local residents on how they will carry out the killings.” Ends

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Denmark arrests Genocide suspect