Belgian authorities arrested a Rwandan man suspected of helping organise the killing of Tutsi who had sought refuge at a care institution during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The suspect, identified as Jean-Baptiste Rutihunza, was arrested in September 2026 in Bierbeek, Flemish Brabant, where he had been staying at a facility run by the Catholic congregation Brothers of Charity. ALSO READ: Rwanda, Belgium agree to restore diplomatic ties, reopen embassies According to Belgian media reports, the Leuven pre-trial chamber subsequently ordered his continued detention as investigations into the allegations against him proceed. Belgium's federal prosecutor's office suspects Rutihunza of serious violations of international humanitarian law, including genocide and crimes against humanity. The charges are linked to killings at HVP Gatagara, an institution that provided care to people with disabilities in Nyanza District. ALSO READ: Belgium arrests three Rwandan genocide suspects Rutihunza was in charge of the institution during the Genocide against the Tutsi and is suspected of collaborating with Interahamwe militia in the killing of Tutsi who had sought refuge there. The allegations are not new. A 2020 report by then-National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) named Rutihunza among those suspected of involvement in the killings at HVP Gatagara. The report, published on May 2020, also implicated Dr Jean Marie Vianney Hakizimana, then head of Gatagara Health Centre, in the killing of Tutsi patients and others who had fled to the institution, allegedly in collaboration with Rutihunza. ALSO READ: Genocide suspects cannot hide forever Accounts of what happened at the institution were also reported by Belgian magazine Le Vif/L'Express. The publication cited testimony from Emile Mudaheranwa, an orthopaedic technician who said he was among the Tutsi who sought refuge at HVP Gatagara on April 21, 1994. Mudaheranwa told the publication that those who arrived were not welcomed by Rutihunza and had to find shelter in different rooms and other available spaces within the institution. He alleged that Rutihunza ordered the destruction of houses belonging to Tutsi the following day, April 22. According to Mudaheranwa's account, killings began on April 24, with victims selected in stages. Lists of those to be killed are said to have been prepared each night, while the institution's records were consulted whenever there was uncertainty about someone's ethnic identity. Mudaheranwa also accused Rutihunza of abandoning children with disabilities who depended on the institution for care, including those unable to prepare food for themselves. Le Vif/L'Express further reported that other testimonies presented before Gacaca courts had raised similar allegations against the former director. The magazine also reported that Rutihunza, who was 49 at the time, was living in a house belonging to the Brothers of Charity congregation near Dendermonde, Belgium. It placed him at position 1,309 on Rwanda's first-category genocide suspects list. Rutihunza was later reported to be living in Italy. CNLG's report indicated that he was based there, while Belgian media say he spent several years in the country before moving to Belgium around 2023. His recent arrest adds to Belgium's ongoing investigations into the Genocide against the Tutsi. The federal prosecutor's office said it had 37 open cases related to the genocide, with six suspects charged so far. Four of those charged are being held in pre-trial detention. Rutihunza is the first suspect in these investigations to be arrested in Flanders. Belgium has previously conducted seven trials related to the Genocide against the Tutsi, all before the Brussels Assize Court. The proceedings resulted in 12 convictions.
