Zimbabwe has at last owned up on what has been an open secret–a wanted war criminal is within its borders.Major Protais Mpiranya, former commander of the Presidential Guards that spearheaded the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, has been, on several occasions, said to be in Zimbabwe allegedly enjoying the protection of senior Zanu-PF officials.The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has petitioned the UN Security Council several times to pressure Robert Mugabe’s government to hand over Mpiranya, but to no avail.Despite the US government putting a $ 5 million bounty on his head, one of the most wanted genocidaire is still roaming free, enjoying the protection of his Zimbabwean minders. Conventional wisdom has it that Mpiranya is more valuable to his keepers than the bounty because of common financial and political interests that stretch as far as the jungles of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).But can material interests overshadow moral obligations to bring to book one of the major architects and executioners of the worst crime of a generation? If the Zimbabwean authorities really mean business, then it would be fair to say that Mpiranya has outlived his usefulness, and at last Rwandan refugees who had been living under his shadow, can finally mass up the courage and return home. Then only will the souls of the millions who perished on Mpiranya’s watch rest in peace.
