Reports from the Netherlands indicate that Maj. Pierre-Claver Karangwa, an officer in the genocidal regime’s military, alleged to be one of the key masterminds in the massacre of thousands during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, is under arrest. On Wednesday, May 11, Dutch police arrested the 65-year-old former Rwandan army officer living in Ermelo. On Friday, May 13, he was brought before the examining magistrate in The Hague who, sources say, validated his arrest. Though wanted in Kigali on suspicion of involvement in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, he has been living in the Netherlands since 1998. Karangwa, a former chief of army intelligence, acquired Dutch citizenship in 2004. He worked at the school campus of Landstede Harderwijk as the facility officer. Harderwijk is located in the province of Gelderland. Karangwa is accused of being responsible for the mass murder of more than 20,000 people in his birthplace Mugina, in the former Gitarama district. Dozens of witnesses of the Mugina killings, including former Interahamwe militia who participated in the massacres and were sentenced for it, testified against the former army officer. Apart from participating in the massacres, Karangwa is also accused of being responsible for the murder of the Mayor of Mugina who tried to prevent the Genocide. Gacaca courts in his home area sentenced him in absentia to life in prison.
