Justice Minister Johnston Busingye has told The New Times that, so far, 47 people repatriated from eastern DR Congo in the past few months have been discovered to have had a role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

All those identified, he said, were sent to jail.

The Minister was not able to provide all names and case details but noted that they are spread in prisons around the country.

The first such case was revealed end last year when an old woman, Angeline Mukandutiye, returned home along with hundreds of other dependents of anti-Rwanda militia and was identified.

As found out, Mukandutiye had been tried in absentia by a Gacaca court which sentenced her to life imprisonment over her role in the Genocide, especially in Kiyovu of Nyarugenge District.

In the ongoing new phase of screening, the Minister explained, "so far, 47 were handed over to RCS (Rwanda Correctional Services (RCS), but the screening process continues."

Thorough verification

Asked if all the others recently identified also had unserved Gacaca sentences, the Minister confirmed "they all have."

He added: "Thorough verification is done; every detail. It takes as long as is needed to be 100 percent sure.

"For example verification is still taking place on a few of them where there is some doubt. It's over four months."

The ongoing screening started at the end of last year when hundreds of anti-Rwanda militia fighters and their dependents captured by the Congolese army were sent back home to Rwanda.

Last year, the DR Congo government stepped up an offensive against terror groups in the country's east. Kinshasa aims to rout out all foreign armed militias based in the neighbouring country, including those of Rwandan origin.

For the better part of last year, the Congolese army dealt a significant blow to the CNRD/FLN, one of the anti-Rwanda groups based in South Kivu Province.

Hundreds of its militia men were killed while others took refuge in jungles where they continue to be pursued.

Those captured were forced to return home, along with hundreds of their dependents.

While some are taken to prison for their role in the 1994 Genocide, hundreds others are under a rehabilitation programme before they can be properly reintegrated into Rwandan society.

Meanwhile, military operations to eradicate negative forces in DR Congo's South Kivu and North Kivu Provinces continue.

The Congolese army has now turned its guns on militia groups in North Kivu where heavy fighting is reported.

The last such big screening of returnees from the neighbouring country, was over a year ago, when more than 300 militia fighters and their dependents returned home.

At the time, Busingye said, 48 Genocide fugitives were identified and "handed over to RCS to serve their Gacaca sentences."