Vincent Murekezi in handcuffs will appear in court on January 16 , 2017 to begin battling an Extradition case
After facing corruption, forgery charges in Malawi, Vincent Murekezi a wealthy Rwandan genocide suspect will now battle his extradition to Rwanda
A Lilongwe Magistrate’s Court has set January 16 as the date for extradition hearing Genocide suspect.
During the hearing, Malawian State and Murekezi’s defense lawyers will present their arguments on whether to have the suspect deported to Rwanda or not, even when the Malawi government has so far shown interest extraditing proceedings.
State counsel, Steven Kayuni, confirmed to a Malawian Daily Times that all files of evidence against Murekezi were delivered to court and to the defense lawyers this week.
“We have submitted the files to both the court and the defense lawyers today and the court has set 16 January as the date for hearing,” Kayuni said.
One of Murekezi’s defense lawyers, Gift Katundu, also confirmed reception of the said files and intentions to appear in court on the set date.
Murekezi, who is considered a ‘wealthy killer’ in southern Rwanda where he allegedly committed genocide crimes, was arrested on December 8, 2016. The Lilongwe court was earlier compelled to suspend the extradition hearing after it had emerged the suspect had criminal offenses to answer in Malawi.
The wealthy genocide suspect is believed to have been running all his businesses in Malawi by offering bribes and kickbacks to government officials.
Murekezi holds two Malawian passports with different names of- Vincent Murekezi and Vincent Banda- plus Malawian citizenship, and is also accused of dodging a corruption case that Malawi Revenue Authority and Anti- Corruption Bureau raised against him in 2008.
The suspect has been in Malawi for the last twenty-two years and is believed to be backed by another Tanzanian born religious business tycoon – Bishop Abraham Simama- who has been referred to by Malawian media (Nyasa Times) as the man shielding the suspect’s arrest and extradition.
Rwanda has placed genocide charges against the suspect since 2009 and National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) is closely following the case.
“NPPA has already submitted all required supporting documents to facilitate the ongoing extradition trial. We hope Judicial Authorities in Malawi will cooperate and extradite Murekezi, we have the trust,” said Faustin Nkusi, the Rwanda Prosecution Spokesperson.
