This spring marked the solemn anniversary of one of the most tragic chapters in recent history, the 1994 genocidal slaughter of some 800,000 men, women and children in Rwanda.
The sad facts are well known. On April 6, 1994, a plane carrying Rwanda's president and his Burundian counterpart was shot down as it was landing in the capital, Kigali. Both men were killed, setting off a wave of revenge and ethnic cleansing. Extremist members of the president's Hutu people savagely attacked and murdered members of Rwanda's Tutsi minority, and many moderate Hutus too. U.N. peacekeepers withdrew after some of their troops were killed, and the rampage continued for 100 days.
Rwandans from all walks of life have worked heroically over the past 20 years to repair their lives and move forward, but an important part of the rebuilding remains unfinished. Most of the men accused by an international criminal tribunal of playing key roles in the genocide fled the country, and nine remain at large. None should enjoy impunity.
The United States is cooperating with the Rwandan government, INTERPOL, the United Nations and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to make it harder for the fugitives to continue to elude justice. We are offering rewards up to five million dollars each for information leading to the arrest, transfer or conviction of these murderers:
Augustin Bizimana was Defense Minister in the interim Rwandan government, helping to prepare the genocide campaign and preparing lists of people to be killed.
Businessman Felicien Kabuga is alleged to be the main financier and backer of the political and militia groups that committed the genocide, and transporting death squads in his company’s trucks.
Fulgence Kayishema, police inspector of the Kivumu commune, is accused of orchestrating the massacre of thousands of Tutsis and Hutu moderates there in April 1994.
Protais Mpiranya, commander of the Rwandan Presidential Guard, is alleged to have directed his soldiers in killing the Rwandan Prime Minister and murdering ten UN peacekeepers guarding her home.
Charles Sikubwabo, mayor of the Gishyita commune in the Kibuye Prefecture, is accused of instigating massacres at the church of Mubuga and elsewhere. Charles Ryandikayo, the manager of a restaurant in the commune, is accused of taking part in the church massacre.
Ladislas Ntaganzwa, mayor of Nyakizu commune in Butare Prefecture, is accused of being one of the main instigators of the genocide in the prefecture and of making speeches calling for eliminating Tutsis in the region.
Pheneas Munyarugarama, a lieutenant colonel in the Rwandan Army, is charged with helping direct and take part in the systematic killing of Tutsi refugees fleeing the fighting.
Aloys Ndimbati, mayor of the Gisovu commune in the Kibuye Prefecture, is accused of conspiring to kill Tutsis in the Prefecture and being directly involved in massacres that took place in the area of Bisesero between April and June 1994.
If you or anyone you know has information on any of these men, it can be provided with complete confidentiality. You may contact the nearest U.S. embassy or within the DRC you can call (081-715-2501) and internationally (243-81-715-2501). Also by email at WCRP@state.gov or on the Internet at www.state.gov/warcrimesrewards
