KAMPALA, Uganda -- A high-profile Rwandan fugitive wanted in connection with the 1994 Rwandan genocide has been arrested by Ugandan police as part of a joint operation between the investigative division of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Ugandan authorities, the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Kampala and INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support (FIS) unit at its General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France.
Ildephonse Nizeyimana, the subject of an INTERPOL wanted persons Red Notice, is accused of serious offences under the 1949 Geneva Conventions on crimes against humanity and genocide and was among the top four fugitives wanted by the ICTR.
As a Rwandan Army captain, Nizeyimana is alleged to have facilitated, encouraged and approved the extermination of Tutsis and moderate Hutus, mainly in the Butare area, from April to July 1994.
“The arrest of Nizeyimana is a credit to Uganda’s law enforcement officers and agencies and clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of international co-operation between police and international tribunals to obtain actionable information in relation to the location and apprehension of fugitives around the world,” said INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services Jean-Michel Louboutin.
“It shows that even if fugitives go on the run for years, the international law enforcement community will keep on searching for them until they are located and arrested, no matter how long it takes,” said Mr Louboutin.
The suspect is the 5th fugitive wanted by the ICTR arrested in the framework of close co-operation between the United Nations Tribunal for Rwanda and INTERPOL’s Fugitive Investigative Support unit that led to the creation of the INTERPOL Rwandan Genocide Fugitives Project in 2007.
In March 2009, INTERPOL updated the existing Red Notice for Nizeyimana as well as the Wanted Persons poster compiled by FIS for Rwandan genocide suspects after it received new photos from the UN tribunal.
The 1994 Rwandan genocide left an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead during 100 days of violence.