Rwandan case a wake-up call—CHRR

The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) has asked government to take the case of Rwandan genocide fugitive Vincent Murekezi as a wake-up call on rising insecurity concerns in the country.

While commending government for arresting Murekezi last Thursday saying it is a demonstration of Malawi’s commitment to combat serious crimes, CHRR said an influx of illegal immigrants in the country poses a security risk.

“In the past few years, Malawi has seen an influx of illegal immigrants, largely due to the porous border systems exacerbated by laxity and reported cases of corruption among the immigration officers working along the borders.  This poses a huge security risk in the country.

“There is no gain saying that Illegal immigrants such as Murekezi could be the ones behind cases of armed robbery in the country.  As a country, we need an honest, thorough and rigorous security checks on our borders to deny entry to any immigrants with suspicious criminal records,” said CHRR in a statement released yesterday and signed by its executive director Timothy Mtambo.

CHRR also asked government to speed up the Murekezi extradition case as Malawi has over the years’ demonstrated commitment to strengthen international criminal justice by, among others, being party to the International Criminal Court and genocide, like the Rwandan 1994, is one such serious crime that shocks the conscience of humanity.

Murekezi was arrested by police in Lilongwe on Thursday, a day after it transpired that the Rwandan government expressed concern over his prolonged stay in Malawi which he turned into a safe haven.

Murekezi, according to Kigali, was found guilty of crimes related to the 1994 genocide and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment.

His arrest came as the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security was planning to meet and discuss his case following a petition by civil society. n