a former prefect, Pierre Kayondo, indicted in Paris and imprisoned

The high Rwandan dignitary and former prefect Pierre Kayondo was indicted on Tuesday in Paris and imprisoned, suspected of having actively contributed to the organization of the 1994 genocide in part of the country, franceinfo learned from a judicial source this Saturday.

According to information from franceinfo, he was indicted by a Parisian judge from the crimes against humanity unit, for “genocide”, “complicity in genocide”, “complicity in crimes against humanity” And “conspiracy to commit these crimes”.

Targeted by a judicial investigation after a complaint

This former Rwandan prefect was the subject of a judicial investigation in France since October 2021 after a complaint from the Collective of Civil Parties of Rwanda (CPCR). The association, which has been tracking suspected genocidaires in France for more than twenty years on behalf of victims and survivors, relied on several testimonies which, according to it, “establish the active role of Mr. Kayondo”, “former prefect of Kibuye”western region of Rwanda, and “former MP” from Gitarama prefecture, in the center of the country.

In October 2021, the CPCR filed a complaint with the Crimes Against Humanity Unit of the Paris TGI against Pierre Kayondo. The association claims that the former prefect had “brought from Kigali to Ruhango many Interahamwe [ndlr : milices hutu, principaux bras armés du génocide] to carry out the massacres in the region”. Thus, according to the CPCR, Pierre Kayondo “would also have personally participated in attacks and several murders of Tutsi” as“meeting facilitator and arms supplier”.

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The CPCR also indicates that Pierre Kayondo was “shareholder of Radio Télévision des Mille Collines (RTLM)” and it is located on “the organization chart of those responsible for “Radio Machettes”, as it was nicknamed”the radio which had broadcast calls for the murder of Tutsi.