Malawi, Rwanda sign Extradition Treaty: ‘Criminals need not find refuge in any other country’
The governments of Malawi and Rwanda Thursday signed the Extradition Treaty, the transfer of Convicted Persons, and the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Speaking in Lilongwe, during the official signing ceremony, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Francis Kasaila said the occasion comes few days after the two governments successfully concluded the first ever Joint Permanent Commission of Cooperation (JPCC).
He said the recent held JPCC has already started bearing results; the two countries already signed the MoU on Political and Diplomatic Consultations and the MoU on Immigration.
Kasaila said this would go a long way to resolve the difficulties which had been there between Malawi and Rwanda, in as far as matters of extradition of nationals who are in conflict with the law in the two countries are concerned.
“We don’t take for granted the effort taken by Rwanda, to end a delegation to travel back to Malawi just a few days after the JPCC was concluded. This shows the extent to which the Government of Rwanda is committed to the cooperation with Malawi,” said Kasaila.
He said this is a strong sign that the two countries are fully committed to strengthen their bilateral cooperation and ties in various sectors.
Kasaila therefore promised to work hard to conclude and implement the numerous area of cooperation agreed under the JPCC so that the aspirations of the peoples of the two countries under this bilateral framework are realized.
Johnston Busingye, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Republic of Rwanda said this is the usual agreement between the governments in the area of justice adding that when having issues of justice they do not respect geographical boundaries.
“Sometimes you have a Rwandan citizen who commits an offence in Rwanda and is one day found on Malawian territory, sometimes have the Malawian citizen commits an offence in Malawi and are found on Rwandan territory. In order for both countries to do justice it is always important to have a framework for doing that justice,” explained Busingye.
He said the agreement between the two countries means that Rwanda can send a Malawian citizen back to Malawi to stand justice in court if they have committed an offence in Malawi and they are found in Rwanda.
The Rwandan Prosecution Authority has been seeking to net genocide convict Vincent Murekezi and other Rwandan nationals suspected to have committed various crimes back in their country.
The Principal Resident Magistrate’s Court recently dismissed the extradition case against Murekezi, citing inexistence of the bilateral treaty between Malawi and Rwanda and irregularities in the manner the State presented the case in court.
Now with the treaty Murekezi extradition case will take a new twist.
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The extradition treaty in fact hardens the existing law on a new front. It is in order. Those who took part in the April 1994 genocide should no longer use the Warm Heart of Africa as safe place where to stay. They ought to answer for the crimes they committed in their country, in parrticular during that orgy of massacre. However, through the Permanent Commission of Cooperation, Malawi as a country should take an opportunity to learn from their counterparts on how they go about uprooting the seeds of hatred that exist between the two Rwandan rival ethnic groups. It… Read more »