A RWANDAN beekeeper living in the US has been arrested over his alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide in his country.
Faustin Nsabumukunzi is accused of committing “heinous acts of violence abroad” when he served as a local leader at the start of genocide, the Justice Department said.
The 65-year-old suspect was also charged with visa fraud and attempted naturalisation fraud when he moved to the US in 2003. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on bail.
“Nsabumukunzi repeatedly lied to conceal his involvement in the horrific Rwandan genocide while seeking to become a lawful permanent resident and citizen of the United States,” said John Durham, a federal prosecutor.
In just 100 days in 1994, about 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda by ethnic Hutu extremists.
The mainly Tutsi forces who took power following the genocide were alleged to have killed thousands of Hutu people in Rwanda in retaliation.
Nsabumukunzi is alleged to have set up roadblocks during the genocide to detain and kill Tutsis and to have participated in killings, prosecutors said, citing witnesses.
“Nsabumukunzi used his leadership position to oversee the violence and killings of Tutsis in his local area and directed groups of armed Hutus to kill Tutsis,” the federal prosecutors said.
He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to life in prison in absentia by a Rwandan genocide court, according to US legal papers.
The suspect was arrested on Thursday at his home in Bridgehampton, New York, where he had settled as a gardener and beekeeper in an exclusive enclave on Long Island, according to the US media.
Prosecutors said he had lied to US officials in his immigration application, including by falsely denying any involvement as a perpetrator of the Rwandan genocide when he sought refugee status in 2003.
