Protais Mpiranya, the most wanted fugitive for his role in the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda, died in 2006, UN prosecutors investigating the case announced on Thursday.
“Following a difficult and intensive investigation, the Office of the Prosecutor was able to determine that Mpiranya died on October 5, 2006 in Harare, Zimbabwe,” the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) said in a statement.
On the run since 2000, Protais Mpiranya was since the arrest of Félicien Kabuga the Rwandan fugitive most wanted by justice, for his alleged involvement in the genocide, where he then commanded the very powerful presidential guard.
He was charged in 2000 by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) with 8 counts of genocide, complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. He is notably accused, with others, of having killed on April 7, 1994, in the early hours of the Tutsi genocide, the moderate Hutu Prime Minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, ten Belgian blue helmets in charge of his protection and several political figures from foreground, as well as their families and servants.
hidden in zimbabwe
After the publication of the indictment by the ICTR in 2002, Protais Mpiranya fled to Zimbabwe, where he lived until his death, the court said. His presence in Zimbabwe, and later his death, were deliberately concealed following the concerted efforts of his family and associates, the statement said.
“Being able to present what happened to the last of the main fugitives of the ICTR – Protais Mpiranya – is an important step in our continuing efforts to obtain justice for the victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi”, greeted the prosecutor of the Serge Brammertz court.
“To the victims of his crimes, Mpiranya was a feared and notorious fugitive,” he added, stressing that “confirmation of his death brings the consolation of knowing that he can never harm others again.”
“There are now only five fugitives missing from the Mechanism’s jurisdiction,” the UN tribunal said. An estimated 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu died in 100 days of killings in 1994 during which Hutu militiamen massacred Tutsi hiding in churches and schools.