Rwanda: Prosecution Speaks Out On Pierre Kayondo, the Genocide Suspect Arrested in France

26 September 2023

The National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) has issued a statement regarding Pierre Kayondo, a fugitive of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, who was recently arrested and indicted in France.

Kayondo is a former prefect of Kibuye and was reportedly a shareholder of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines - a radio station that played a fundamental role in the Genocide, inciting massacres and spreading hatred against the Tutsi.

He is also said to have been a member of the Mouvement Republicain National pour la Démocratie et le Développement (National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development), which had close ties to Interahamwe militia.

According to reports, Kayondo was the subject of an investigation in France in 2021 following a complaint from victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Faustin Nkusi, the Spokesperson of the NPPA, told The New Times that Kayondo is alleged to have committed crimes including conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement to genocide, and orchestration of multiple killings across diverse sectors, predominantly within the locality of Ruhango.

"The NPPA has worked in collaboration with the French authorities since 2009 on the case against Kayondo, and continues to assist the investigations by the French authorities in Rwanda regarding the allegations," he said.

"The NPPA remains committed to ensuring justice is served to victims and survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi by ensuring all assistance needed by the French authorities in compiling evidence against Kayondo," he added.

The Collective of Civil Parties for Rwanda (CPCR), an organisation that works to bring before French justice people suspected of having participated in the genocide against the Tutsi, says he "actively participated" in the organisation of the exterminations in Ruhango and Tambwe in Gitarama prefecture by providing weapons to Interahamwe militia groups and participating in their meetings.

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