Man Accused in 1994 Rwandan Genocide Arrested in Ottawa

Laurent Nduwayezu, 68, was arrested in Ottawa last month on 16 immigration charges, Cbc reported. Rwandan authorities allege he participated in the killing of Tutsis during the 1994 genocide. An international arrest warrant for Nduwayezu had been issued by Rwanda in 2014.

The RCMP began its investigation after receiving a tip in 2021 and spent five years confirming his identity, including by sending investigators to Rwanda to collect DNA samples. Nduwayezu entered Canada about 30 years ago and lived under the alias Roland Nduwayo, the RCMP said. He now faces charges related to using a false identity to renew his Canadian passport.

None of the allegations against Nduwayezu have been proven in court. Prosper Higiro, Rwanda's High Commissioner to Canada, said he appreciated the arrest. "We hope that justice will be served," Higiro stated, adding that about 1,200 suspects remain at large and roughly a dozen are believed to be in Canada.

Higiro said he hopes Nduwayezu will be returned to Rwanda for trial. "Thirty-two years is still a long time," he said. Muzima, a Rwandan genocide survivor, told Radio-Canada he was struck on the back of the neck with a machete and left for dead in 1994.

He lost his parents, four sisters and two brothers during the violence. "There is no impunity anywhere in the world, especially here in Canada," Muzima said. " Over 100 days in 1994, more than 800,000 Rwandans, most of them Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed by the Rwandan military and Hutu militia.

In 2012, Léon Mugesera was extradited from Quebec to Rwanda and later received a life sentence for hate speech that stirred up killings of Tutsis.