US extradites fugitive genocide suspect to Rwanda

By Ivan Nganwa

KIGALI, Rwanda

A man accused of taking part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide has been extradited to his home country after failing to secure asylum in the United States.

Leopold Munyakazi, 65, who was wanted in Rwanda, arrived in the U.S. in 2004 after fleeing his home a decade earlier, and until this week was in a prison in the state of Alabama, fighting extradition.

“This move by the U.S. to extradite Munyakazi is not only a sign of international judicial cooperation, but also an expression of confidence in Rwanda’s judicial system, knowing that Rwanda will accord him a fair trial. This is indeed another milestone in Rwanda’s quest for justice,” Rwandan Justice Minister Johnston Busingye told reporters.

Munyakazi had requested asylum, citing fears of being tried unfairly in Rwanda, but he lost the case and was extradited to Rwanda, arriving in Kigali Wednesday night.

His extradition follows two arrest warrants issued against him by the Rwandan government in 2006 and 2008.

A former university lecturer, Munyakazi is accused of playing a major role in planning the 1994 genocide by publishing genocide propaganda and calling on his students to kill ethnic Tutsis.

Rwanda has issued up to 500 indictments against genocide fugitives living in various countries, but according to Busingye, the response has been slow. About 50 suspects have been extradited to face justice, and fewer than 20 have been tried in other countries.

Rwanda has previously accused some European countries such as France and the Netherlands of protecting genocide fugitives in their territory.

The U.S. last deported a genocide suspect in 2011, when Jean Mary Vianney Mudahinyuka, now serving life in prison, was handed over to Rwandan officials.

The genocide was a mass slaughter of Tutsis in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority government in 1994.

An estimated one million Rwandans were killed in three months in April to July 1994, constituting as many as 70 percent of the Tutsi and 20 percent of Rwanda's total population.