Pretoria - Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Ronald Lamola, has commended South Africa’s law enforcement agencies for the arrest of Rwandan fugitive Fulgence Kayishema.
He was nabbed after an Interpol Red Notice was issued at the request of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunal. The IRMCT wanted the fugitive in connection with the genocide and crimes against humanity in Rwanda.
He has been at large since the early 2000s.
Lamola said the arrest sent a message that South Africa would not be a refuge for fugitives.
“With this arrest, two emphatic statements cannot be refuted: that the long arm of the law knows no time bounds and South Africa is not willing to be a safe haven for fugitives,” said Lamola.
“We will continue to assist other countries and international bodies to trace fugitives. We expect the same from other countries.”
Kayishema, 61, allegedly orchestrated the killing of about 2 000 Tutsi refugees, among them women, children and the elderly, at the Nyange Catholic Church during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
On Thursday, IOL reported that Rwandan’s most-wanted man had been nabbed in Paarl in the Western Cape on Wednesday.
“At the time of his arrest at the grape farm in Paarl, he was living under the false identity of Donatien Nibashumba,” Hawks national spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbombo said.
The SA Operational Task Team (OTT), comprising Crime Intelligence, Home Affairs, International Relations, Interpol, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation) made the arrest.
“This came after the OTT received (information on the) fugitive’s whereabouts and pictures from the IRMCT that led to the identification of the fugitive who was wanted since 2002.
“According to the arrest warrant issued and the IRMCT indictment, the fugitive was the police inspector in Rwanda… (He) allegedly played a significant role in the planning and execution of genocide where more than 2 000 people were killed in 1994,” Mbombo said.
He said the fugitive was due to appear in court on May 26, 2023.
The National Head of the Hawks, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, commended the team for their excellent work .
He said the arrest demonstrated the power and effectiveness of international co-operation between police worldwide in obtaining information about the identification, location and apprehension of fugitives.
“It proves that however long it takes, the law enforcement community will keep searching for fugitives until they are located and arrested.
“This operation is a credit to law enforcement officers and agencies in South Africa and Rwanda.
“The fugitive will remain in custody (and is due to) to appear in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court for his first appearance on Friday, at the disposal of South African judicial authorities, pending his extradition to Rwanda.”
IOL