Tanya Nel
A formal request to extradite Dr Andre Rwamakuba, former minister of education in Rwanda and currently employed by the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Services, was made to the Namibian government last week.
The Rwandan government asked for his extradition on the grounds that it has documented proof of his involvement in the 1994 genocide.
Rwamakuba, who worked at the Kigali central hospital, is accused of inciting Hutus to kill Tutsi patients. He allegedly prevented United Nations investigators from entering the hospital. The investigators subsequently found mass graves in the hospital’s grounds.
“I am as innocent as a flower,” says Rwamakuba.
Since Rwanda has no extradition agreement with Namibia, the request had to be made through diplomatic channels. This gives Namibia the opportunity to refuse it, should it wish to do so.
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Dr Albert Kawana, said that had the request come from the International Tribunal on the Genocide in Rwanda, it would have been “a straightforward matter”.
Although the request was made to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it will be handled by the Ministry of Justice, which will approach the president’s office with a recommendation on whether or not to accede to the request. Should the president’s office decide to comply, Rwamakuba will be able to petition the courts to overturn the decision.
Kawana said there may be political impediments, especially as the country making the request still imposes the death penalty.
“The government cannot extradite a person if it knows that the crime he is suspected of committing will carry the death penalty in his native country. This is because the death sentence is prohibited by the Namibian Constitution,” Kawana said.
Rwandan ambassador in Pretoria, Ben Karenzi, and Rwanda’s justice minister will be arriving in Windhoek on August 18 to discuss the issue.
Rwamakuba will keep his government job until the matter is finalised.