Genocide fugitives symbolise unfinished quest for justice

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is in the process of winding up its business. But as it moves into this direction, several high level fugitives remain at large and some have found safe haven in a number of countries around the world.Felicien Kabuga, Agustin Bizimana, Protais Mpiranya and several others remain at large in different countries. Given their considerable wealth and loot, these fugitives are in position to buy protection and evade arrest. Many others, scattered across Europe and North America, have taken advantage of legal loopholes and in some instances, indifference from international actors to stay out of reach from justice.Some of the cases that were before the ICTR have been transferred to Rwanda and those still at large will also in future, be transferred to Rwanda when they are arrested.The fugitives that remain at large, 18 years after the Genocide, symbolise the unfinished business of the quest for justice for the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It is important that new mechanisms for arresting these fugitives are explored. Several of them are now in the evening of their lives and therefore delay in bringing them to justice, may create a situation where they die before being made to answer for their heinous crimes.It should be impressed upon all concerned that there is need for fast tracking the arrest and fair trial of the fugitives, so as to have closure for the many victims of the 1994 Genocide and also to help understand the motivations of those who planned, and financed the Genocide.