The Congolese government is yet to decide on the extradition of Genocide suspect Ladislas Ntaganzwa to face justice in Rwanda, a month after he was arrested on its soil. Ntaganzwa, 53, one of the nine top fugitive Genocide suspects, was on December 7, last year, arrested in eastern DR Congo but there has been no indication that Kinshasa will send the former mayor to Kigali for trial. In an interview on Tuesday, Prosecutor-General Richard Muhumuza said the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), which succeeded the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), is following up to see to it that authorities in Kinshasa transfer the suspect to answer for his role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Muhumuza said Ntaganzwa’s arrest in DR Congo was based on an ICTR international arrest warrant. “MICT is following up on Ntaganzwa’s transfer to Rwanda in accordance with ICTR’s court decision that transferred the case to Rwanda,” Muhumuza said. Previously, Ntaganzwa’s case file was transferred to Rwanda’s National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) by an ICTR Trial Chamber. Ntaganzwa, a former mayor of Nyakizu Commune in the former Butare Prefecture in southern Rwanda, was in the past indicted by ICTR for genocide and crimes against humanity for the massacre of thousands of Tutsi at locations in his locality, including at Cyahinda Parish and at Gasasa Hill during the 1994 Genocide. He was also alleged to have orchestrated the rape and sexual violence committed against many women. He was one of the six fugitives whose cases were referred to Rwanda by the Prosecutor of the ICTR and, once transferred, is expected to face trial in Rwanda on nine counts of genocide and crimes against humanity, among others. Ntaganzwa’s case was transferred to Rwanda in 2012. He was indicted by the ICTR for genocide and crimes against humanity for the massacre of thousands of Tutsi civilians at various locations in his locality, including at Cyahinda Parish and at Gasasa Hill during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Muhumuza said: “Jurisdiction in seeking transfer for a person indicted by the ICTR belongs with MICT. And it is not extradition but transfer as per the transfer order issued by an ICTR Trial Chamber. However, we will ultimately be the jurisdiction to try him upon transfer.” When the Prosecutor of the Mechanism, Judge Hassan B. Jallow, informed the UN Security Council of the arrest of Ntaganzwa during his briefing last month, he also urged the Kinshasa authorities to transfer him to Rwanda for trial without delay. The MICT was established by UN Security Council Resolution 1966 (2010) to complete the remaining work of the ICTR and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia after the completion of their respective mandates. Since 1994, eastern DR Congo where Ntaganzwa was arrested has been a safe haven for the remnants of the perpetrators and masterminds of the 1994 Genocide. Their different politico-military groupings have often metamorphosed in an attempt to veil their genocide ideology. Since 2000, they are organised in what is known as FDLR, a militia outfit based in eastern DR Congo’s jungles. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
