A Genocide fugitive was Wednesday arrested in Germany, the first arrest to be made by the European country. Onesphore Rwabukombe, a former Bourgmestre (Mayor) of Muvumba commune, now eastern province, was arrested in reaction to an Interpol red notice following an International Arrest Warrant issued by the Rwandan government. He was arrested in the town of Gelnhausen, in the Federal State of Hesse by the German police and they are currently studying extradition documents, John Bosco Mutangana, the coordinator of the Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit said. He said that the arrest was sanctioned by the German Prosecutor General’s office. Rwabukombe is the third fugitive to be arrested in a European country since the year began It follows the arrest of Lt Col Marcel Bivugabagabo and former businessman Claver Kamana by French authorities. We sent the indictment over five months ago through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the German Embassy in Kigali, said Mutangana, who is also a Prosecutor with National Competence. The arrest coincided with President Paul Kagame’s four-day visit to Germany which began on Tuesday. Rwabukombe is accused of having incited people in the former Muvumba commune to kill during the Genocide. But most notably, he even crossed to Murambi commune and joined Gatete to kill Tutsis, especially in a town called Kiramuruzi, said Mutangana. Jean Baptiste Gatete was the former Bourgmestre of Murambi. He is among four persons the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) wants to transfer to Rwanda for trial. Gatete was arrested in the DRC in September 2002. Onesphore Rwabukombe is also accused of having transported militias who killed in Nyarubuye church in the former Kibungo Prefecture (now Eastern Province). He was on his way to Tanzania where he fled after Genocide, said Mutangana. Other charges against Rwabukombe include spearheading the massive arrests of Tutsis in 1990 alleging that they were ‘accomplices of the RPF’ and many of these were to be killed during the Genocide, said Mutangana. He added that they are waiting for the next move by the German authorities but added that they will request for extradition. The Office of the Prosecutor, through the Fugitives Tracking Unit, has issued arrest warrants for close to 100 fugitives; most of them purported to be in Europe and North America. Some European countries have reacted positively to the arrest warrants including the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Denmark and most recently, France. The Chambery Court of Appeal in France recently ruled that Kamana, a former businessman, be extradited for trial in Rwanda but he has since appealed the decision. Another extradition exercise is going on in the United Kingdom against four former Bourgmestres.Ends
