Extradite Genocide suspects or drop investigations – Ngoga

Rwanda’s Prosecutor General, Martin Ngoga, has told western countries, including the United States and France, to either extradite Genocide fugitives or stop creating an impression that they are investigating them and instead “keep them as their citizens”.Ngoga was reacting to last week’s decision by Chief United States District Judge Steven McAuliffe to declare a mistrial in the case of Beatrice Munyenyezi after jurors told him they were at an impasse following nearly 19 hours of deliberations.Munyenyezi, 42, was accused of lying about her involvement in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi when applying for American citizenship. She went on trial in a New Hampshire federal court. Munyenyezi is the wife of Arsene Shalom Ntahobari, a former militia leader, who, together with his mother, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, were convicted of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). They were sentenced to life in prison. Judge McAuliffe instructed the jury to try to reach a unanimous verdict but they deadlocked. Jurors sent out a note saying they could not reach unanimous verdicts. “You have not failed your duty as jurors,” Judge McAuliffe told them. “Sometimes no decision is the right decision.” David Ruoff, one of Munyenyezi’s lawyers, said he expects the US Government will attempt to prosecute her again. “We don’t know what the next step will be. We are reaching out to the Americans for clarification. The whole thing is very disappointing,” Ngoga told The New Times. According to Ngoga, “some of these western jurisdictions can’t just understand the gravity of cases before them. They handle these cases in a very simplistic way. We have, in the past, applauded trials abroad because we thought they would substitute extradition. “But this isn’t happening; some countries have abused this process.” Ngoga added that some cases have been dropped, citing lack of budget, while others have sent “countless” investigative delegations to Rwanda without results. “We are going to re-assess this situation and ask them to come clear on whether they are serious. We have 20 fugitives in France who have been arrested and released without trial yet their investigators have been here more than 35 times,” said Ngonga. France has so far refused to extradite Sosthene Munyemana, nicknamed “the Butcher of Tumba”, and Dr Eugene Rwamucyo, suspected of involvement in the Genocide in Butare. Agathe Kanziga, widow of former President Juvenal Habyarimana, also continues to reside in France, albeit illegally. “While it is important for them to come here and investigate, we can’t imagine the necessity of coming here 35 times by the same people who claim they have no budget. “That is what we have been going through,” explained Ngoga. “We have got to denounce the handling of Genocide cases in such a demeaning manner. It is no longer time for us to beg for action, they either bring Genocide suspects to justice or keep them as their citizens. The choice can’t be ambiguous.”

National

Extradite Genocide suspects or drop investigations – Ngoga