Faustin Nsabumukunzi, a former Counsellor in Kibirizi Sector, in Gisagara District, has been arrested in the United States for concealing his involvement in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The 65-year-old who had lived undetected in the U.S. for more than two decades was taken into custody on the morning of April 24 in Long Island, New York. According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice, Nsabumukunzi is charged with one count of visa fraud and two counts of attempted naturalization fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. ALSO READ: Who is Genocide convict Napoleon Mbonyunkiza, deported from US? The indictment, issued by a federal grand jury on April 22 and unsealed following his arrest states that Nsabumukunzi lied on immigration and naturalization applications to conceal his role in the genocide. At the time of the genocide, as a local leader in Kibirizi, Nsabumukunzi is alleged to have orchestrated and participated in the killings of the Tutsi. Court documents detail that Nsabumukunzi used his leadership position to direct armed militias, set up roadblocks to identify and kill Tutsi, and even participated in the killings himself. He was later convicted in absentia by a local court for his role in the genocide. “According to court documents, Nsabumukunzi was a local leader when the genocide began, and he used his position of authority to oversee the killings of innocent Tutsi,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, the head of the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He then lied his way into the United States and attempted to build a new life on a foundation of deception.” ALSO READ: Tracking genocide fugitives: why so few have been tried U.S. Attorney John J. Durham added that Nsabumukunzi lived “with an undeserved clean slate” for over 20 years in the U.S., while the survivors of his crimes continued to live with the trauma of their loss. “Thanks to the tenacious efforts of our investigators and prosecutors, he will finally be held accountable,” Durham stated. Darren B. McCormack, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New York emphasized the gravity of the charges. “The depraved conduct of which the defendant is accused represents the worst of humanity,” McCormack said. “We will never tolerate the safe-harboring of individuals linked to such unimaginable crimes.” Nsabumukunzi reportedly applied for refugee resettlement in the United States in 2003, was granted permanent residency in 2007, and submitted applications for naturalization in 2009 and 2015. On each occasion, he is alleged to have denied any involvement in the 1994 Genocide. His arrest follows the recent deportation of Ahmed Napoleon Mbonyunkiza, another Rwandan convicted, in absentia, for genocide-related crimes. Mbonyunkiza was also serving a prison sentence in the U.S. for unrelated offenses when he was deported.
