A 52-year-old woman has been arrested in Karongi District after 19 years on the run over her role in the Genocide against the Tutsi, officials said. ALSO READ: Survivors’ tips help unmask long-hidden genocide perpetrators Tarcille Uwimana, who had been convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Gacaca courts, was apprehended in Ngoma Village, Gitega Cell, Rugabano Sector, on Tuesday, April 14. She had fled to the Eastern Province after being sentenced by the Gacaca courts, but later returned to Rugabano. Uwimana was sentenced in 2007 to 25 years in prison by the Gacaca Court of Gitega. She was identified after one of the survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi from Rugabano Sector, who approached the representative of Ibuka in the district and informed him that Uwimana had returned to Rugabano Sector after years in hiding. Uwimana is among 125 Genocide fugitives arrested since 2023, according to Karongi District Vice Mayor in charge of Social Affairs, Pascasie Umuhoza. ALSO READ: Genocide fugitives can hide but not forever “Everyone’s contribution is needed to locate perpetrators. Continuous awareness campaigns and the ‘Ndi Umunyarwanda’ initiative are very important. The Month of Unity and Resilience is organised once a year, but in Karongi we organise it twice a year after realising that it yields good results,” Umuhoza told The New Times. ALSO READ: ‘Genociders’ evading justice She said 16 genocide perpetrators convicted by Gacaca courts were arrested in 2023/2024, while 72 were arrested in 2024/2025. At least 37 more were arrested in the current fiscal year. The Gacaca court system officially closed in 2012 after processing over 1.9 million genocide-related cases over the course of 10 years. ALSO READ: Nyanza DPC recalled amid reports linking him to Genocide crimes In the same district, on April 9, security organs arrested a 63-year-old man, Valens Murakaza, suspected of participating in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He had been in hiding for more than three decades. The arrest followed information shared during a meeting between sector officials and Genocide survivors in the area. One participant revealed that Murakaza had been convicted by Gacaca courts but continued to live in the community, engaging in farming and livestock activities while deliberately avoiding public gatherings. In August 2011, the Gacaca Court of Kavumu Sector found Murakaza guilty of genocide-related crimes and sentenced him in absentia to 15 years in prison. In October 2025, another perpetrator, Faustin Ndindabahizi, was arrested in Rubengera Sector, after spending 31 years in hiding. He had previously been sentenced in absentia by Gacaca courts to 30 years in prison. “We hope that other Genocide perpetrators will also be held accountable, because both citizens and leaders are committed to strengthening our unity, and those who committed genocide crimes should be punished,” the district official said.
