Zimbabwe has denied harboring the Rwandan genocide fugitive Protais Mpiranya after it emerged that he died in 2006 and was buried in the country after living there for four years.
The 20-year hunt for one of the world’s most brutal killers came to a decisive end in an overgrown cemetery outside Harare, but Zimbabwean authorities have said that they did not conceal his whereabouts.
“As a law-abiding nation, Zimbabwe will never harbor criminals and welcomes findings from the DNA samples extracted from the fugitive,” Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs Frederick Shava said in a statement on Sunday.
Photo: AFP / United Nations / International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
The Zimbabwean government cooperated with UN investigators into Mpiranya’s case, he added.
“The government of Zimbabwe wishes to clarify some recent media reports that are circulating insinuating that the government was harboring the most wanted Rwandese fugitive, Protais Mpiranya, whose remains were allegedly found in Zimbabwe under the alias Ndume Sambao,” the statement read.
The body of Mpiranya, a former commander of the Rwandan presidential guard indicted for genocide, lay buried under a stone slab bearing a false name, which UN investigators tracked down and identified with the help of a lead found on a confiscated computer — the hand-drawn design for Mpiranya’s tombstone.
His remains were last month exhumed at the request of UN investigators, and his identity was confirmed by DNA analysis on Tuesday last week.
Zimbabwean authorities said that they cooperated with the investigation by the organization charged with tracking down fugitive criminals, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), adding that Zimbabwe joined a task force to coordinate the inquiry.
“From day 1, Zimbabwe cooperated fully with the investigation team,” the statement read. “The Zimbabwean authorities have consistently cooperated and adhered to the country’s international legal obligations.”
Authorities in Harare said that they were involved in the exhumation of Mpiranya’s remains and authorized DNA samples to confirm his identity.
However, the government’s claim has raised some eyebrows among those who have followed the search.
Investigators have long suspected the fugitive of hiding in Zimbabwe and have made repeated attempts to persuade local authorities to hand over Mpiranya, investigate his activities or provide evidence of his death.
As early as December 2010, investigators reported to the UN Security Council that Mpiranya had connections with Zimbabwe and had lived there for long periods.
In 2012, under pressure from Kigali, Zimbabwean authorities admitted that the fugitive could be on their territory and pledged to find him “dead or alive.”
The question of his presence in Zimbabwe was discussed in parliament, and local media listed possible aliases and addresses associated with him.
Officials from the IRMCT traveled to Zimbabwe months after former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was was forced from power in November 2017 in the hope that the new government would prove more helpful.
However, in 2020, Serge Brammertz, prosecutor of the IRMCT, told the Security Council that, despite credible evidence of the whereabouts of key fugitives, the lack of cooperation from governments remained a challenge, particularly in eastern and southern Africa.
The IRMCT said that Mpiranya fled to Zimbabwe in 2002, where his entry was facilitated by local officials. He then brought associates and family to Zimbabwe, along with a series of “trusted subordinates.”
For four years, Mpiranya was able to avoid arrest in Zimbabwe, where he resided in an affluent area of Harare, and “continued his engagement with Zimbabwean military officials,” while also receiving a series of visitors from overseas.
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