Rwanda genocide fugitive Kayishema to seek asylum in SA

Fulgence Kayishema, one of the last fugitives sought over the 1994 Rwanda genocide, will apply for asylum in South Africa, where he has been living for two decades, his lawyer said on Tuesday 20 June.

Kayishema, one of four remaining fugitives sought by United Nations (UN) investigators for their role in the genocide, was arrested last month in the town of Paarl in the Cape Winelands region.

He allegedly took part in one of the genocide’s bloodiest episodes, when thousands of men, women and children who had sought shelter in a church, were slaughtered.

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Rwanda genocide: Kayishema to apply for asylum

“My instructions are to apply for asylum in the Republic of South Africa,” lawyer Juan Smuts told AFP after Kayishema appeared in court in Cape Town.

Smuts said his client “fears for his life, if and when extradited”.

The asylum application is likely to delay Kayishema’s trial and “will suspend his extradition as envisaged,” said the lawyer. 

There have not been any formal extradition requests yet.

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‘One of the world’s most wanted genocide fugitives’

The 62-year-old, who used many aliases and false documents during 22 years on the run, faces 54 immigration-related charges in South Africa.

He is described by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (MICT) — the successor to the UN court that prosecuted scores of major suspects — as “one of the world’s most wanted genocide fugitives.”

— By © Agence France-Presse

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