By William Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
ONTARIO, Canada – Jacques Mungwarere was arrested on Friday November 6, and has been charged with violating Canada’s War Crimes Act. He was arraigned on Saturday in federal court. Mungwarere is the second person to be charged with violating the law since it came into effect.
Mungwarere was charged under the act for his participation in the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi tribe in Rawanda. Police began the investigation when they received a tip from a concerned citizen. Police did not release any information about the person who told them Mungwarere was in Canada or whether the informant was in Canada or in Rwanda.
In a six year investigation the police interviewed people from Canada, the United States, and Rwanda. Canadian authorities made four trips to Rwanda during the investigation. “We’ve received very good co-operation from the government of Rwanda, which has provided logistical support particularly in locating witnesses,” said Royal Canadian Police Sergeant Menard. “The government of Rwanda did not impede nor did it attempt to influence our investigation.”
Menard would not give much information about Mungwarere’s crimes or his status as a citizen. “I can only say that he is a Rwandan national,” said Menard. Little has been released about the details of his crimes other that he is being charged for action during the 1994 genocide in Kibuye
Kibuye is a town in Rwanda located near the border between Rwanda and the Congo. Kibuye was not immune from the violence that occurred in 1994 genocide. In 1994 bulldozers knocked down a church killing 2000 Tutsi who were seeking refuge inside.
Menard hinted that there may be a connection between Mungwarere and Desire Munyasa the first person to be tried under the Canadian War Crimes Act. Munyasa was sentenced to life in prison last month after being convicted of seven crimes including murder, rape, and torture. Munyasa was in a different region of Rwanda when he committed his crimes.
The Canadian war crimes act came into effect in 2000. A universal jurisdiction clause allows Canada to charge people under the act for crimes committed in Rwanda. The 1994 genocide there claimed the lives of some 800,000 Tutsi and Hutu moderates. Ron Charlebois, who heads the RCMP’s War Crimes division, stated: “Persons who commit such heinous crimes are not welcome to Canada. We will do everything within our ability, with the resources allocated to us, to ensure that such persons do not enjoy impunity here.”
For more information, please see:
Ottawa Citizen – Windsor Man Faces Genocide Charge – 8 November 2009
AFP – Canadian Police Arrest Rwandan Immigrant, Allege Genocide – 7 November 2009
The Canadian Press – RCMP Arrest and Charge Rwandan War Criminal After 6 Year Probe – 7 November 2009
