Once again, a significant fugitive suspected of the 1994 Rwandan genocide died years ago. Army chief Phénéas Munyarugarama died of natural causes in early 2002 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This was announced by a special court in The Hague. He was charged with genocide and crimes against humanity.
Last week, Proteus Mpiranya, another prime suspect, died years ago. Mpiranya died in 2006 in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, where he fled after the massacres.
a hundred days
In 1994, an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by violent militias in Rwanda in 100 days. The movement halted the Tutsi rebel movement the Rwandan Patriotic Front led by Paul Kagame, the current president of Rwanda.
At the request of the new government, the United Nations established the Tribunal for Rwanda in 1994 to try those involved in the genocide. A total of 93 suspects have been charged. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ended its work in 2015, but by that time not all suspects had been identified.
The so-called International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) deals with outstanding cases. Now that Munyarugarama’s fate is known, the search for four fugitives continues. IRMCT Attorney General Serge Brammertz said the main fugitive suspect at the moment is Fulgence Kayishema. Last seen in South Africa.
