Rwanda, Germany discuss Mbarushimana’s extradition

KIGALI - The Government of Rwanda and the Republic of Germany are in discussions to extradite to Rwanda a genocide fugitive who was recently arrested in Germany, the Prosecutor General, Martin Ngoga, confirmed this Saturday. Callixte Mbarushimana, a former core member of the extremist party Coalition for the Defence of the Republic (CDR), was arrested in Germany at the Frankfurt Airport by border police. “We are in close contact with our German counterparts to extradite him to Rwanda and the process is moving smoothly,” Ngoga said in a telephone interview with Sunday Times. He added that each country has its own style of handling arrested foreign suspects and that the German government would respond once they complete their process. Mbarushimana who is also the Secretary General of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDRL) was arrested in reaction to an Interpol Red Notice which was issued after Rwanda’s Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit (GFTU) sent an amended indictment with clear evidence of his role in the 1994 Tutsi Genocide. He a former employee of the United Nations Development Programme, (UNDP) and is the second suspect to be arrested in Germany following Onesphore Rwabukumba who was arrested in April. Mbarushimana is accused of having organised the massacre of many former employees of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Indictments that were seen by Sunday Times indicate that on he also gave logistic support to militiamen to go and kill in different suburbs in Kigali especially, by providing UN vehicles and fuel. After the evacuation of expatriates who were working with UNDP during the Genocide, Mbarushimana was made the acting head of mission, a position he used to support the killings. He faces charges of genocide, complicity in genocide, conspiracy to murder, creation of and association with a criminal gang. Ends