Dieudonne Ishimwe, the former organiser of the Miss Rwanda beauty pageant, has been arrested in Texas, United States. Popularly known as Prince Kid, 38-year-old Ishimwe had fled Rwanda after he was convicted by the High Court in Kigali of crimes related to rape in October 2023. He fled the country before serving a jail term of five years. ALSO READ: Prince Kid sentenced to five years in prison. What's next? The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in a statement, said Ishimwe was arrested in Fort Worth, Texas on March 3, following an arrest warrant issued by the government of his home country for rape. He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings, according to the statement. The statement said Rwanda’s Prosecutor General had issued an arrest warrant for Ishimwe in October 2024. The National Public Prosecution Authority did not respond to The New Times request for comment about Ishimwe’s arrest warrant. ALSO READ: Prince Kid sentenced to five years in prison “Foreign fugitives who attempt to evade responsibility for their criminal actions should take heed that we will find them,” Josh Johnson, acting Field Office Director of ICE Enforcement and Removals Operations Dallas, was quoted as saying in the statement. “ICE will work relentlessly with our state, local and federal law enforcement partners by arresting and removing those who threaten the public safety of our communities, he added. Ishimwe was reportedly residing in Fort Worth without authorisation prior to his arrest. The ICE statement showed that he entered the US legally but violated the terms of his admission. In a case that attracted substantial attention in Rwanda between 2022 and 2023, Ishimwe was found guilty of soliciting sexual favours and rape by the High Court in Kigali. The verdict came after the prosecutors lodged an appeal against a lower court decision that had acquitted him. In the aftermath of the High Court’s verdict, a spokesperson for the Rwanda Correctional Facility (RCS), told to The New Times that Ishimwe was not present among the inmates at the Nyarugenge Correctional Facility.
