The United Nations International Residual Mechanism (IRMCT) for Criminal Tribunals concedes that the work of the Tracking team involves severe challenges, namely the strategies of the fugitives for evading justice include not only change of identity but also a constant mobility across a large belt of East, Central and Southern Africa, and inaccessible areas of the Democratic Republic Congo. However, the lack of collaboration by Governments where these fugitives are hiding is the main bottleneck faced by both the mechanism and the Rwanda Genocide Tracking Unit.
In his latest address to the UN Security Council, Serge Brammertz the Prosecutor for the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, revealed that his office had credible intelligence on the whereabouts of several of the eight Rwandan Genocide fugitives indicted by the court. However, he pointed out that his office had approached a number of Member States seeking cooperation to have the fugitives apprehended without much success. He is not the first UN Prosecutor to complain to the Council about lack of cooperation.
In 2011, the then Chief Prosecutor of the ICTR, Hassan Bubacar Jallow, in his presentation to the UN Security Council complained that the tribunal had encountered difficulties while tracking Protais Mpiranya, who was believed to be hiding in Zimbabwe at the time.
Without naming names, Brammertz lamented that there were ‘a number of issues’ in state cooperation that have frustrated his office’s efforts to secure arrests. Funny enough, calls ignored include about 200 Red Notices issued by Interpol, at the request of the Rwandan government to facilitate the apprehension of Genocide fugitives hiding in different parts of the world
According to Rwanda’s Prosecutor General Jean Bosco Mutangana, DR Congo hosts most of these fugitives with some 356 suspects believed to be on its soil while Uganda hosts 250 fugitives. He states that collaboration of the states in which the fugitives are suspected to be taking refuge is crucial in order to succeed in apprehending those individuals and bring them to justice. It is this collaboration that has apparently been wanting.
But why is it proving so hard to apprehend the fugitives?
Jean Bosco Mutangana observes that most fugitives have found it easy to evade arrest by moving between countries for the last 25 years on the run, evading detection by frequently changing names and identity. The prosecutor mainly attributes this to the absence of a data centre in the country before the genocide against the Tutsi, which effectively means that there were no records like fingerprints or any other data for that matter for majority of the population. Only a section of the population including students and civil servants had any records.
But what exactly motivates some Governments from complying with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention), and yet are party to the convention that goes with clear and specific obligations to either try or extradite genocide fugitives? Apart from Kenya which is a signatory to the Convention but not Party, all countries in the region are both signatory and party to the convention.
Well, it’s a bag of mixed reasons, including lack of goodwill on the part of the concerned Governments, administrative difficulties and logistical challenges, political reasons and business interests, to point out but a few. There have been numerous proclamation of commitment from countries around the world, but only a handful have been able to act on their commitments.
The most wanted genocide fugitives indicted by the ICTR, including Félicien Kabuga, Protais Mpiranya and Augustin Bizimana and Fulgence Kayishema, Charles Sikubwabo, Aloys Ndimbati, Ryandikayo, and Phénéas Munyarugarama remain at large to date. This grouping comprises individuals who were not only powerful and influential but also stinking rich owing to their positions and connections. Their political connections and money have enabled them to open doors in some African countries with high levels of corruption and governance challenges. In some countries, some of these fugitives have been reported to enjoy protection from entire Government systems or high ranking state officials mainly because of business interests.
In 2011, the then Chief Prosecutor of the ICTR, Hassan Bubacar Jallow, in his presentation to the UN Security Council complained that the tribunal had encountered difficulties while tracking Protais Mpiranya, who was believed to be hiding in Zimbabwe at the time. We are in 2019 and we are unfortunately still singing the same song, lamenting about some countries protecting genocide fugitives. What is unfortunate is that majority of these countries are in Africa, where apart from being bound by international conventions, share African traditional values which scoff at a neighbor hiding a killer.
We are in 2019 and we are unfortunately still singing the same song, lamenting about some countries protecting genocide fugitives. What is unfortunate is that majority of these countries are in Africa, where apart from being bound by international conventions, share African traditional values which scoff at a neighbor hiding a killer.
Brammertz states that the tracking, arrest and prosecution of the remaining fugitives indicted by the ICTR is a top priority for the Mechanism. Of the 90 persons indicted by the ICTR, 8 remain at large. Of these, three have been earmarked for trial by the Mechanism: Félicien Kabuga, Protais Mpiranya and Augustin Bizimana. The ICTR Prosecutor has requested referrals to Rwanda in the cases of the five other fugitives: Fulgence Kayishema, Charles Sikubwabo, Aloys Ndimbati, Ryandikayo, and Phénéas Munyarugarama.
Overall, 19 suspects have been extradited so far, with the latest being Wenceslas Twagirayezu, who was extradited on Tuesday this week from Denmark.
Of these, four came from the United States, three from Uganda, three from the Netherlands, three from ICTR (in Tanzania), two from Canada, one from Norway, one from Germany and two from Denmark.
Hassan The Hussler 