More than thirty years later, people accused of taking part in the genocide against the Tutsi still live free, in dozens of countries and inside Rwanda itself. This page follows the cases that have reached a court: who was arrested, extradited, tried, convicted or acquitted, and where.
For survivors, every one of these cases is personal. Several of the people on this page were accused of crimes in my own hometown of Butare.
How to read this page. An arrest warrant or an indictment is an accusation, not a verdict. I list people by name only once a court has acted, and I include acquittals. Last checked October 30, 2026. See a mistake, or a case I’ve missed? Tell me.
The numbers Convicted, never caught UN tribunal Cases by country Sources
The numbers
1,100+Arrest warrants and indictments Rwanda has sent to 33 countries since 2007.
1,094Of those warrants still not acted on in 2023.
93People indicted by the UN tribunal for Rwanda. All had been accounted for by 2024.
9Countries in Europe and North America that have tried suspects for genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Rwanda’s prosecution service set up a Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit in 2007. By its count, most suspects live in neighboring countries. These were the largest numbers it reported in 2021:
| Country | Suspects reported |
|---|---|
| DR Congo | 408 |
| Uganda | 277 |
| Malawi | 63 |
| Tanzania | 52 |
| France | 47 |
| Republic of Congo | 42 |
| Belgium | 40 |
| Kenya | 35 |
| United States | 22 |
| Netherlands | 18 |
Why so few cases? Some countries have no extradition treaty with Rwanda, some courts have refused extradition over fair-trial concerns, and suspects change names and nationalities. That is also why this page lists court outcomes rather than every name on Rwanda’s list.
Convicted, but never caught
The international warrants are only part of the story. When the gacaca courts closed in 2012, they handed Rwanda’s prosecutors the files of everyone they had convicted in absentia, and those cases moved to the ordinary courts. Ten years later, almost none had been found.
71,658People convicted in absentia by gacaca courts, handed to prosecutors in 2012.
70,734Still at large a decade later. Only 924 had been caught.
7,055Believed to live inside Rwanda itself, more than six times the number on Rwanda’s international warrant list.
21,950Believed to live abroad. Only about 1,000 of them face international warrants.
In 2022, prosecutors could trace only about half of the 70,734, some 35,680 people; the rest could not be located or were duplicate files. Among those convicted in absentia abroad, 92 live in France, 88 in Belgium, 60 in the United States and 9 in Canada. At the pace of the last decade, it would take more than 750 years to catch them all.
Source: Rwanda’s National Public Prosecution Authority, annual report 2021–2022, as I reported in my story on the Munyemana verdict.
The UN tribunal
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda indicted 93 people. It convicted more than sixty and acquitted 14 before it closed at the end of 2015. Its remaining work passed to the UN’s Residual Mechanism (IRMCT), which tracked down the last eight fugitives: two were arrested and six were confirmed dead.
| Name | Accused of | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Félicien Kabuga | Financing the genocide | Arrested near Paris in May 2020 after 26 years on the run. Ruled unfit to stand trial in June 2023. |
| Fulgence Kayishema | Planning the massacre of more than 2,000 people at Nyange church | Arrested in Paarl, South Africa, in May 2023 after 22 years on the run. |
Cases by country
Tap a country to see its cases.
France 8 people convicted · cases brought by the CPCR
Almost every case in France began with a complaint by the Collectif des parties civiles pour le Rwanda, founded by Alain and Dafroza Gauthier. We lost Dafroza this October.
| Name | In 1994 | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Pascal Simbikangwa | Army officer, Kigali | 25 years for genocide (2014). Upheld on appeal, 2016. |
| Octavien Ngenzi and Tito Barahira | Mayors of Kabarondo | Life for genocide and crimes against humanity (2016). Upheld on appeal, 2018. |
| Claude Muhayimana | Driver, Kibuye | 14 years for complicity in genocide (2021). Same sentence on appeal, February 2026. |
| Laurent Bucyibaruta | Prefect of Gikongoro | 20 years for complicity in genocide (2022). Died in December 2023 before his appeal. |
| Philippe Hategekimana (Manier, “Biguma”) | Gendarme, Nyanza | Life for genocide (2023). Upheld on appeal, December 2024. |
| Sosthène Munyemana | Doctor, Butare | 24 years for genocide (2023). Same sentence on appeal, October 2025. |
| Eugène Rwamucyo | Doctor, Butare | 27 years for complicity in genocide (2024). Upheld on appeal. |
Belgium Six trials since 2001
| Name | In 1994 | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| The “Butare Four”: Vincent Ntezimana, Alphonse Higaniro, Sister Gertrude (Consolata Mukangango), Sister Maria Kisito (Julienne Mukabutera) | A university professor, a factory director and two nuns, Butare | 12 to 20 years for war crimes (2001), Belgium’s first trial under universal jurisdiction. |
| Bernard Ntuyahaga | Army major | 20 years (2007). |
| Fabien Neretse | Agronomist and official | 25 years for genocide (2019). Arrested in France. |
| Séraphin Twahirwa | Militia leader, Kigali | Life for genocide and war crimes, including rapes (December 2023). |
| Pierre Basabose | Businessman and RTLM shareholder | Found guilty of genocide and war crimes; committed to psychiatric care (December 2023). |
United States Charged with lying to get in
US prosecutors usually charge suspects with lying about their past to enter or stay in the country, then seek removal.
| Name | In 1994 | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Beatrice Munyenyezi | Roadblock near Hotel Ihuriro, Butare | 10 years for immigration fraud (2013). Deported to Rwanda, 2021. |
| Jean Leonard Teganya | Medical student, Butare | More than 8 years for immigration fraud and perjury (2019). |
| Oswald Rurangwa | Accused over killings in Gisozi, Kigali | Deported to Rwanda, 2021. |
| Eric Nshimiye | Medical student, Butare | Convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, October 27, 2026. Sentencing January 26, 2027. My story on the verdict. |
Canada Three cases
| Name | In 1994 | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Désiré Munyaneza | Butare | Life for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes (2009). |
| Jacques Mungwarere | Kibuye | Acquitted (2013). |
| Léon Mugesera | Politician, known for a 1992 hate speech | Deported to Rwanda (2012) and sentenced there to life (2016). |
Other countries Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom
| Country | What happened |
|---|---|
| Germany | Onesphore Rwabukombe, a former mayor, sentenced to life for genocide (2015). |
| Sweden | Stanislas Mbanenande (2013) and Claver Berinkindi (2016) sentenced to life for genocide. |
| Netherlands | Joseph Mpambara sentenced to life (2011); Yvonne Basebya convicted of inciting genocide (2013). Two suspects extradited to Rwanda (2016). |
| Finland | François Bazaramba, a pastor, sentenced to life (2010). |
| Norway | Sadi Bugingo sentenced to 21 years (2013). Charles Bandora extradited to Rwanda (2013). |
| Switzerland | Fulgence Niyonteze, former mayor of Mushubati, convicted of war crimes by a military court. Life in 1999, reduced to 14 years on appeal. |
| United Kingdom | Courts refused to extradite four suspects to Rwanda in 2009 and five in 2017, over fair-trial concerns. None has been tried. |
Sources and documents
- IRMCT, all ICTR fugitives accounted for, and the ICTR case records.
- Rwanda’s prosecution service (NPPA), report on genocide fugitives, 2018 (PDF).
- CPCR, trial reports and complaints (French and English).
- JusticeInfo, “Slowly, the justice net is closing on the last genocide fugitives” (2023).
- “No Safe Haven” and the Politics of Accountability, Refugee Survey Quarterly (2026).
- All my stories on genocide fugitives.
Keep exploring
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