Malawi extradite runaway Rwandan genonide suspect Murekezi

Malawi government has extradited  convicted businessperson and Rwandan fugitive Vincent Murekezi to his native land.

The Rwandan is wanted to serve jail sentence for the role he played in the bloody 1994 genocide for which he was tried in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment. He fled to Malawi in 2003.

An application to have Murekezi extradited was initially dismissed by the Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court before the State revived the matter after Malawi and Rwanda signed an extradition treaty.

In September last year, High Court judge Ruth Chinangwa ruled in favour of Murekezi that the matter was suitable for judicial review in that the court would have to determine the applicable law for the extradition process and determine the applicable process of extradition.

Murekezi is the first fugitive to be extradited from Malawi after the two countries signed an extradition treaty in February 2017.

A wealthy businessman, Murekezi has been living in Malawi for over 15 years and acquired the  Malawian citizenship in 2003.

His arrest in December 2016 was preceded by an uproar from members of the civil society in the southern African country, where it was alleged that Murekezi was peddling influence to evade arrest.

Murekezi was  serving a five-year sentence after the Lilongwe Principal Resident Magistrate’s Court found him guilty of corruption for evading K2.2 million duty with his company, Sofamu Limited in 2007.