The Senate adopted the law ratifying the extradition treaty between Rwanda and Mozambique, which officials said will contribute to bringing to justice Genocide fugitives, and other suspects or convicts at large. The cooperation was signed by the two countries back in June 2022 in Kigali. ALSO READ: Genocide fugitives and the protracted pursuit for justice According to Senator Cyprien Niyomugabo, the extradition agreement between Rwanda and Mozambique covers general crimes, and particularly, genocide crimes, including the suspects of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi who are in Mozambique. He observed that the agreement will help bring to book the genocide suspects living in Mozambique, to ensure that justice is done. On March 12, 2021, the Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit (GFTU), which operates under the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA), told parliamentarians that there were at 1,100 Genocide fugitives who had not yet been brought to book. The fugitives were in some 33 countries. According to the GFTU data, 13 Genocide fugitives were living in Mozambique. ALSO READ: Where are the 1,100 Genocide fugitives? Soline Nyirahabimana, the Minister of State in charge of Constitutional and Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Justice, said that the agreement covers the extradition of suspects and convicts. However, she indicated that, when the remaining period of the convicts’ prison term is not at least six months, they cannot be extradited. Though there are other cross-border crimes that are covered in the agreement, Nyirahabimana pointed out, a particular focus is on tackling Genocide crime, indicating “this is a crime that concerns us the most.” Also, the Senate adopted the law ratifying the extradition treaty between Rwanda and Angola, which was signed between the two countries on April 15, 2022. Meanwhile, the Minister said that Rwanda also signed mutual legal assistance treaties with these countries, which covers aspects including partnership in evidence provision and persecution of suspects. So far, Rwanda has signed extradition treaties with 11 countries in Africa. According to Nyirahabimana, they are Angola, Congo Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. ALSO READ: Does Malawi's new leadership spell doom for Rwandan Genocide fugitives? Nyirahabimana pointed out that trends show that cooperation between countries and the movement of people are increasing, with a view to boost trade and development, but that such a situation might also favour lawbreakers. “However, this also leads to an increase in some crimes, and it becomes easy for some of the suspects to move from one country to another, especially as they try to evade justice,” she said, indicating that extradition treaties therefore are one of the ways to improve the partnership between nations, in line with tackling cross-border crimes. Of the emerging crimes, she cited human trafficking, drug smuggling, and terrorism, as well as economic and financial crimes, among others. “Again, we still have fugitives of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, who are still roaming freely or are still being pursued in foreign countries, as well as those who were handed sentences. These treaties apply to them,” she said.
