The Rwandan government has issued an international arrest warrant for former prime minister Pierre-Celestin Rwigema who fled to the US last year. In an interview with the BBC Kinyarwanda service, Rwanda’s State Prosecutor Gerald Gahima said Rwigema was accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide. “Rwigema’s file is not new,” Gahima said. “The first accusations against him date back to 1996 when he was accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide where he was living in Kigali.” According to Gahima, Rwigema was member of a local security committee which “prepared the killings”. He added that Rwigema was “in the first category of genocide suspects”, which deals with those accused of planning the genocide. He said Rwigema could not have been arrested before now because investigations were still in progress at the time. Rwigema served as prime minister from 1995 to February 2000, when he resigned amid accusations of financial impropriety and later fled the country. He has denied any involvement in the genocide.
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