Fulgence Kayishema, a fugitive from justice from Rwanda who had been held in South Africa, was apprehended once more on a warrant for his extradition to Arusha, Tanzania, where he would face a genocide prosecution.
His attorneys appear to have been taken off guard by the most recent developments, which were requested by the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
He was taken into custody earlier on Tuesday while being held in the high court’s holding area in Cape Town.
The tribunal wants him to respond to allegations that he planned the death of over 2,000 Tutsi refugees in Rwanda at a Catholic church during the 1994 genocide.
After being located at a wine vineyard in Paarl, in the Western Cape region, Mr. Kayishema is already detained in South Africa. He was initially detained for breaking the nation’s immigration restrictions.
Investigators in South Africa claimed that since his entrance in the country in 2000, he has been residing there using a fictitious name.
He is charged with crimes against humanity, involvement in genocide, and having a significant role in the 1994 genocide in his native Rwanda.
He gave up on his request for release during his most recent court appearance in June and declared that he will seek asylum in South Africa instead.
To give his attorneys and the regional prosecutors time to reply to the arrest and transfer order, the case against him has been continued until August 30.
Although he hasn’t yet entered a plea to the allegations brought against him, he has previously denied any involvement in the offences.