Robert Mukombozi & Andrew Bagala
7 September 2007
Kampala, Kigali — East African countries have agreed to step up operations against Rwanda's war crime fugitives who are still at large in the region.
During a meeting in Bujumbura last week, police chiefs from the 11 states under EAPCCO, announced that a new joint operation against such key members who participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide is imperative if peace is to be restored in the area.
Appreciating the importance and urgency of apprehending wanted fugitives at regional and international levels, the council of police chiefs encouraged member states to cooperate in the process.
"We call upon member states to implement the recommendation of the 19th African regional conference to apprehend the fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda," said the EAPCCO police heads at the end of the forum.
Some of the genocide suspects have reportedly been cited in Uganda's Nyakivale camp in Isingiro District in the infamous 'Kibati' group. Uganda has been finalising plans to deport the group but emerging reports indicate that the illegal immigrants have relocated to an unknown place. They allegedly feared to be forcefully repatriated to Rwanda, a country they claim is not secure for them, authorities in Kampala have said.
The police chiefs, however, also reached consensus that the new plan of action would be extended to all other genocide fugitives wanted by Rwandan police.
Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Seychelles and Ethiopia are among the countries under the EAPCCO umbrella. The new move comes as an immediate practical step in the crackdown of genocidaires following the recent resolution passed by the international police.
At Interpol's recent 19th African Regional Conference in Arusha, Tanzania, the global security institution called for all National Central Bureaus to provide assistance to arrest the remaining genocide fugitives of the ICTR.
A report submitted to delegates by the registrar and prosecutor general of the ICTR at the time underlined the importance of apprehending the 18 individuals still wanted before the scheduled closure of the tribunal in December 2008.
The request came just weeks after Interpol had assisted in co-coordinating the arrest of Rwandan genocide fugitive Isaac Kamali in France. However, Kamali together with Father Wencelas Munyeshaka, another Rwandan fugitive, have since been freed by France on bail, something that has continued to raise fury in Rwanda.
Meanwhile, the member countries also agreed to increase anti-human trafficking in East Africa, fight against corruption by sending personnel to Vienna Academy for specialized training in anti-corruption.
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