Jean Léonard Teganya, a fugitive wanted in Rwanda for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity, has been deported from the United States back to Rwanda. The National Public Prosecution Authority confirmed that Teganya arrived at Kigali International Airport on November 9, 2026, at around 6 pm local time. He was indicted by Rwanda's prosecution authority in 2014 for his alleged involvement in genocide crimes committed in Butare, Southern Rwanda.
Teganya's journey to Rwanda began over three decades ago when he fled the country at the end of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He traveled through several countries, including Canada and the United States, before being deported back to Rwanda. Teganya was born in 1971 in Gatumba Sector, Western Province, and was studying medicine at the National University of Rwanda in Butare during the genocide.
According to evidence presented during his trial in the United States, Teganya was a member of the MRND, the political party that dominated the government before and during the genocide. He was also involved in the Interahamwe, the youth wing of the MRND, and participated in martial arts and weapons training through the group. Teganya remained at the University Hospital of Butare during the genocide and allegedly led soldiers and Interahamwe members around the hospital looking for Tutsi patients and refugees.
The U.S. government presented evidence that Teganya led groups that took Tutsi women from the hospital to be raped and was linked to the killing of three Tutsi people at the hospital and four Tutsi students. He was also linked to five rapes involving two Tutsi women hiding at the hospital. These allegations formed the background to a U.S. immigration case that eventually led to his imprisonment.
Teganya fled Rwanda after the genocide and traveled to Canada, where he applied for asylum in 1999. However, Canadian authorities rejected his claim due to his alleged involvement in atrocities at the Butare hospital. He then crossed into the United States in 2014 and applied for asylum, but U.S. authorities discovered that he had made false statements during immigration proceedings about his past.
In 2019, a federal jury in Boston convicted Teganya on five counts of immigration fraud and perjury. He was sentenced to 97 months in prison and later deported to Rwanda after completing his sentence. The National Public Prosecution Authority said Teganya will face the judicial process over crimes allegedly committed during the 1994 genocide.
The deportation of Teganya closes one chapter of a long international case, but opens another as he faces justice in Rwanda. His return is a significant development in the ongoing efforts to bring perpetrators of the 1994 genocide to justice.
Key points
- Jean Léonard Teganya was deported from the United States to Rwanda on November 9, 2026.
- Teganya was wanted in Rwanda for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity committed in Butare, Southern Rwanda.
- He was convicted in the United States in 2019 on five counts of immigration fraud and perjury.
