Rwanda Requests Zambia to Extradite Suspects
The Zambian government has reportedly been asked to extradite six people alleged to have played decisive roles in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. The Times of Zambia reported that the Rwandan request was publicized during a Zambian Parliamentary session last Friday.
The Rwandan Genocide claimed approximately 800,000 lives in 1994. Picture: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA, AFP/Getty Images
The newspaper quoted Zambian Foreign Affairs Deputy Ministers, Effron Lungu, as stating that “the Extradition Act, Chapter 94 of the Laws of Zambia could only allow extradition of fugitives if there was an agreement on reciprocal basis”, which was not in place between Zambia and Rwanda. Lungu remained pessimistic about the chances of securing the extradition without an agreement in place between the two governments.
The Rwandan Prosecutor General, Martin Ngoga, said that Lungu’s response was “simplistic” as it failed to take into consideration the gravity of the crime of genocide. Ngoga has reportedly commented that the absence of a reciprocal extradition agreement can be circumvented through the political medium gaining momentum in support of accountability over the 1994 genocide.
Meanwhile, experts have met with Interpol’s general Secretariat during the 5th International Expert Meeting on Genocide, War Crimes, and Crimes against Humanity and expressed urgency in arresting over 130 genocide suspects indicted by Rwanda. At the meeting, groups expressed concern over the indictment of many genocide fugitives suspected to reside in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
