The Hunt for Genocide Fugitive Fulgence Kayishema Continues; Entry in SA Investigated

Fugitive from justice and one of the faces linked to the Rwanda genocide, Fulgence Kayishema, was back in court in Cape Town on Friday. The former Rwandan national, believed to have overseen the massacre of 2,000 Tutsis in a church, continues to face an ongoing probe into his unauthorized entry into South Africa.

Fulgence Kayishema, charged by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, was apprehended on a farm in Paarl in May, where he is suspected of living under a false identity to evade arrest for over two decades.

The court was filled with emotional scenes as Kayishema arrived, waving at his family and supporters with a bible clutched in his hands. He is known to have served as an inspector of judicial police in Rwanda.

The pending investigation revolves around Kayishema's purported fraudulent entry into South Africa. The State informed the court that they are still awaiting important documents from the Malawian embassy, alongside substantial entry documents from the moment he entered South Africa at the Komatipoort border. These missing materials have put a temporary halt to prosecution.

Kayishema's defense remains in the hands of lawyer Heynes Kotze, who terms the State's case details as scant. He reveals that a total of 56 charges were pointed towards his client, mainly related to immigration offenses.

As the complexities of the case continue to surface, the re-examination has been postponed to 13 December with Kayishema awaiting further proceedings from his cell at the Helderstroom prison.