Rwanda: one of the masterminds of the Tutsi genocide arrested after 30 years: “He planned the killing of thousands of men, women and children”

ROME – Fulgence Kayishema’s arrest is an important milestone in the quest for justice for crimes committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, writes Human Rights Watch. The Organization is asking for guarantees that the man will face a fair trial.

The Mastermind of Genocide. Kayishema had been wanted since 2001. His escape ended on May 24, 2023, in South Africa. He is credited with masterminding the killing of over 2,000 men, women and children in a church in western Rwanda on April 15, 1994. Orchestrated by Hutu political and military extremists, the genocide claimed more than half a million lives and destroyed around three quarters of Rwanda’s Tutsi population in just three months. “Kayishema’s arrest demonstrates that justice, especially for the most serious crimes, has no expiration date,” said Lewis Mudge, director of the Central Africa department of Human Rights Watch.

The allegations against Kayishema. The man was first indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2001. Prosecutors say he directly participated in the planning and execution of the church massacre, attempting to burn the structure down while over 2,000 Tutsis were there they hid inside. Failing to set fire to the building – continues the indictment – Kayishema helped prepare the use of a bulldozer to bring it down, killing those who had sought refuge there. Prosecutors say Kayishema and others then supervised the transfer of the bodies to the mass graves. His case was transferred to the Rwandan authorities in 2012, but Human Rights Watch she had objected on the grounds that Rwanda might not guarantee a fair trial.

The Other Masterminds of Genocide. Kayishema’s arrest comes at a time when many others believed to have planned the Rwandan genocide at the highest levels have either been arrested or have already died. Félicien Kabuga, another alleged mastermind of the massacres, was captured in France in May 2020. His trial began in September 2022 but was suspended in March because judges had to assess whether he was mentally fit to support it. A few days after Kabuga’s arrest, the remains of Augustin Bizimana – the defense minister at the time of the murders – were identified in a grave in the Republic of Congo. Also, in May 2022, the death of Protais Mpiranya, the commander of the presidential army guard at the time of the genocide, was confirmed. In May 2022, another fugitive, Phénéas Munyarugarama, was confirmed dead in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Kayishema trial. Fulgence Kayishema is now facing proceedings in the South African judicial system, but Rwanda is requesting that he be transferred to Kigali. When it is possible to guarantee fair trials – he writes Human Rights Watch – it would be better to prosecute international crimes such as genocide and those against humanity in the places where they were committed, i.e. close to the victims and affected population. However, the Rwandan judicial system lacks full independence and the government could lobby to influence the outcome of sentences, especially in politically sensitive cases such as the one in question. This would risk harming the defendants’ rights to a fair trial and a sentence commensurate with the crimes committed.

Previous. Ladislas Ntaganzwa, who was considered another mastermind of the genocide, was arrested in Congo and transferred to Rwanda in March 2016, where he stood trial. He was convicted of genocide and other related crimes in May 2020 and his life sentence was upheld on appeal in March 2023. The lengthy trial length raised concerns about its fairness. Ntaganzwa told the court he had been held in solitary confinement for 25 days, a period during which his lawyers were not allowed to meet with him. The lawyers have repeatedly denounced that the prison authorities have attempted to monitor the communications and documents prepared by the lawyers for the defendant’s defense.