CAPE TOWN South Africa May 27-One of the last fugitives sought over the 1994 Rwanda genocide was on Friday arraigned in a court in the South African city of Cape Town.
Fulgence Kayishema was arrested on Wednesday after being on the run for 22 years.
He allegedly took part in the genocide that left thousands of men, women and children killed at a church in Rwanda.
While in the courtroom, the 62-year-old held up a book titled “Jesus First” when he identified himself to the court. He appeared calm and composed as the prosecutor read out the accusations against him.
They included “genocide” and conspiracy to commit genocide and Nathan Andriaanse told the court that they were related to the slaughter of more than 2000 people in Rwanda in 1994.
Magistrate Ronel Oliver remanded him at Cape Town maximum security Pollsmoor prison until June 2.
Kayishema is a former police inspector who was arrested at a grape farm at Paarl some 60 kilometres from Cape Town.
He has been living in South Africa for over two years under an alias of Donatien Nibashumba according to the prosecution.
The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunal (MICT) had labelled him “one the world’s most wanted genocide fugitives.”
According to MICT, Kayishema directly participated in the planning and execution of the massacre including by procuring and distributing petrol to burn down a church with the refugees inside.
MICT said when the plan failed, Kayishema and others used a bulldozer to collapse the church, killing and burying refugees inside.
About 800,000 Rwandans, most of the ethnic Tutsis were slaughtered in a period of 100 days at the hands of Hutu extremists.
South Africa said Kayishema was arrested following an Interpol red notice.
It is reported that he applied for asylum in South Africa in January 2000 as a citizen of Burundi.
The United States had offered upto $5 million reward for leading to Kayishema’s arrest, transfer or conviction.
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