Paul Rusesabagina, an alleged denier of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and leader of a terrorist group responsible for civilian deaths in Rwanda, was on Monday, August 31, paraded before the media in the capital Kigali. According to the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Rusesabagina has been the subject of an International Arrest Warrant for multiple charges, including terrorism, arson, kidnap and murder. Thierry Murangira, acting RIB Spokesperson, told reporters that the crimes were allegedly perpetrated against unarmed, innocent Rwandan civilians on Rwandan territory, including in Nyabimata, Nyaruguru District in June 2018 and in Nyungwe, Nyamagabe District in December 2018. Rusesabagina has largely been living in western capitals, while his MRCD and PDR-Ihumure terror groups have a presence in and outside the region. He is detained at Remera Police Station while his case file is being processed in accordance with Rwandan criminal procedure. Murangira declined to discuss details of the operation that resulted into Rusesabagina’s arrest, only saying it was conducted through international cooperation. Rusesabagina has been subject of an International Arrest Warrant, he said. His case file is being prepared before he is handed to the National Public Prosecution Authority. We want the public to know that it is a matter of time. All the others (terror suspects) too will be arrested. No one will kill Rwandans and go scot free, Murangira said. Rusesabagina is a leader – along with Belgium-based former Rwandan Prime Minister FaustinTwagiramungu – of the MRCD Ubumwe-FLN, a militia group based mainly in the east of neighbouring DR Congo. His foundation – Hotel Rwanda Rusesabagina Foundation (HRRF) – has been accused of collecting money from well-wishers it uses to fund terrorist activities of FLN, the armed wing of MRCD which is commanded by ‘Gen’ Wilson Irategeka, formerly with FDLR. The FDLR is largely comprised of elements blamed for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which claimed the lives of over a million people in three months. The FLN first raided a Rwandan village near the border with Burundi in June 2018, before carrying out another attack in December 2018 when they ambushed three passenger service vehicles inside Nyungwe forest. As a result, several people lost their lives while others lost limbs. The group, which has often attacked Rwanda from Burundi, has also been blamed for kidnapping civilians. The public learnt much of the details of the terror group’s activities during the trial of Callixte Nsabimana, a former FLN spokesperson, in May last year. Nsabimana pleaded guilty.
