We have argued this before; the crime of Genocide is not an ordinary crime and should not be relegated to the class of irrelevance and disdain. Many Genocide suspects manage to escape justice through loopholes and judicial jargon and technicalities. Most laws are designed to punish common crimes in society; from petty theft to homicides, so Genocide does not receive as much attention and it takes many courtrooms by surprise when it lands in their IN trays. That is what happened recently in Malawi, where a Genocide suspect, Vincent Murekezi, was arraigned to answer an extradition request filed by Rwanda. Though court concurred that he had a case to answer, he could not be extradited simply because there was no extradition treaty between Rwanda and Malawi. The man would escape the Genocide dragnet and only be pursued for a lesser charge of corruption and illegal possession of a Malawian passport. But by the stroke of a pen, his good fortunes might be about to end and find Genocide haunting him again. In what was the best example of judicial cooperation that did away with the usual bureaucratic paperwork and dithering, both countries signed the precious document; the extradition treaty. It would not have been possible if the government of Malawi had not taken Genocide seriously, not the way many African countries do as they let wanted Genocidaires roam free on their territories. This should be a wakeup call to all those “undecided”, even those with extradition treaties with Rwanda. Many warrants of arrest have been sent across the continent and beyond, but Genocide does not seem to bother them. It is not about individuals who are wanted for Genocide, it is about conscience; it is about humanity and safe guarding future generations against mankind’s worst crime.
