Callixte Mbarushimana, a former senior political leader of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), has died in France at the age of 63. Mbarushimana was born on July 24, 1963, in Ndusu, Rwanda, and had been living in France for many years. He was trained as an information technology specialist and worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kigali before the 1994 genocide.
Mbarushimana's conduct during the genocide was the subject of investigations and allegations. Witnesses accused him of using his position against Tutsi colleagues and other civilians, including handing UNDP vehicles and supplies to the former Rwandan army and Interahamwe militia. He was also accused of helping compile lists of people to be killed, and investigators linked him to the deaths of about 32 people, including Florence Ngirumpatse, a UNDP personnel chief.
Ngirumpatse, a cousin of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, was killed along with people she had sheltered in her home near Camp Kigali. Mbarushimana was implicated in her killing by a UN war-crimes investigator, Tony Greig, who reported that Mbarushimana personally shot two other victims. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda examined the file but did not indict him.
Mbarushimana later became involved in the FDLR, an armed organisation based mainly in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. He held senior political positions in the group from about 2004 and became its executive secretary in July 2007. He was based largely in France and issued FDLR communiqués and represented the group's political positions.
Mbarushimana's FDLR role eventually brought him before the International Criminal Court (ICC). He was arrested in Paris in 2010 and transferred to The Hague in 2011. Prosecutors accused him of contributing to an FDLR plan to attack civilians in North and South Kivu in 2009. However, the case did not go to trial, and he was released in December 2011 after ICC judges voted against confirming the charges.
A separate legal case had also been opened in France, investigating alleged crimes against humanity and complicity linked to the 1994 genocide. Mbarushimana was placed under judicial examination in 2010, but the case was ongoing at the time of his death. The French investigation was opened in 2008 following a complaint filed by the Collectif des parties civiles pour le Rwanda.
Mbarushimana's death has been reported on social media, and tributes have been paid to him by some of his former colleagues. His legacy is complex, with many Rwandans still seeking justice for the crimes committed during the 1994 genocide. The Rwandan government has not yet commented on his death.
Key points
- Callixte Mbarushimana, a former FDLR leader, has died in France at the age of 63.
- Mbarushimana was accused of involvement in Rwanda's 1994 genocide and was investigated by the International Criminal Court and French authorities.
- He was never convicted of the crimes alleged against him, despite being implicated in the deaths of dozens of people.
