Ibuka condemns deferment of Mugesera’s deportation

The Executive Secretary of Ibuka, Janvier Forongo has said that the continuous delay of Leon Mugesera’s deportation has enraged survivors of the Genocide. Ibuka is the umbrella organisation of all Genocide survivors’ associations. “We do appreciate the decision to deport Mugesera to Rwanda to face justice, but we are not happy with the UN’s intervention to further delay the fugitive’s deportation,” asserted Forongo, during an interview with the Sunday Times. The Canadian Government was set to deport Mugesera on Thursday, but the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Committee against Torture (OHCHR-CAT), requested for the delay to investigate torture claims. Forongo said that claims by Mugesera that he will be tortured in Rwanda are baseless and tricks to avoid facing justice in his home country. “He will be prosecuted according to the laws; nobody wants him to be tortured. Our country has a professional court system,” he said. The Federal Court had on Wednesday ruled that Mugesera, who had been battling deportation for 16 years, was unsuitable to remain on Canadian soil. The Canada Border Services Agency had set January 12 as the date for his deportation, but it has since delayed following a couple of events, mainly the UN intervention and the subsequent hospitalisation of the 59 year old, after a suspected drug overdose. According to Jean De Dieu Mucyo, the Executive Secretary of National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG), even if it takes a week or more Mugesera will be deported to Rwanda. Mugesera is wanted for crimes related to inciting violence and propagating crimes against humanity, through an incendiary speech he gave in 1992, where he called on Hutus to kill Tutsis and dump them into Nyabarongo River. frank.kanyesigye@newtimes.co.rw