Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE office of the Prosecutor at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals has confirmed the death Phénéas Munyarugarama, one of the few remaining fugitives indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR).
A statement availed by the Chief Prosecutor, Mr Serge Brammertz, said the genocide suspect died from natural causes in 2002 and has since been buried.
“The office of the Prosecutor was able to conclude that Munyarugarama died from natural causes on or about 28 February 2002 in Kankwala, in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where he was also buried,” read part of the statement.
Munyarugarama, a Lieutenant colonel in the Forces Armées Rwandaises (FAR), was first indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in 2002 for crimes he committed as the Commander of the Gako military camp in the Bugesera region, Kigali-rural Prefecture, in 1994.
He was charged by the ICTR with a total of eight counts including genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity.
He would later be alleged to be responsible for mass killings, attacks, and sexual violence against Tutsi civilians at various locations in the Bugesera region, including the attacks on Tutsi refugees at the Ntarama and Nyamata Catholic Churches.
“This result is yet another important step in my Office’s efforts to secure justice for the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda and complete our mandate…for the the victims and survivors of Munyarugarama’s crimes in the Bugesera region, we hope this result brings some closure,” the IRMCT Chief Prosecutor stated in the detailed statement.
With four fugitive cases closed in the last two years, Mr Brammertz disclosed that his office was now fully focused on accounting for the final four fugitives who remain at large.
“Our main priority now is Fulgence Kayishema, who we previously located in South Africa,” he said.
He deemed the result as a further attests to the United Nations’ unwavering commitment to accountability for the most serious crimes.
News of Munyarugarama’s death comes less than a week after the tribunal announced the death of Protais Mpiranya, the top remaining wanted suspect over the deaths of about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a 100-day slaughter.
Other outstanding fugitives under IRMCT’s jurisdiction also include Charles Sikubwabo, Charles Ryandikayo and Aloys Ndimbati.
The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism) was established by UN Security Council Resolution 1966 (2010) to complete the remaining work of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which closed in 2015 and 2017, respectively. It has two branches, one in Arusha, Tanzania, and one in The Hague, Netherlands.
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