Rwanda’s Murekezi to fight fresh extradition bid in Malawi

Rwanda genocide convict Vincent Murekezi is facing a fresh extradition bid following the signing of an Extradition Treaty between Rwanda and Malawi recently as the State has filed an application for his removal.

The Principal Resident Magistrate’s Court last month 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.

But following the signing of the Extradition Treaty, the State has applied to have Murekezi returned to Rwanda.

“We have made a fresh application for Murekezi extradition,” State advocate Steven Kayuni said.

He said the State has regularised the process.

Murekezi’s lawyer Wapoka Kita said he was not aware of the fresh application.

The Rwanda is serving a five year jail after being convicted of  corruption almost nine years after he was tried in absentia.

Murekezi committed the crime in 2008 in collaboration with Komani Nyasulu, a Malawian national clearing agent.

“In 2008, the Anti-Corruption Bureau received a complaint alleging that on 30th December, 2007, Komani Nyasulu a clearing agent, corruptly received K200, 000.00 from Vincent Murekezi, a Rwandan businessman in order to facilitate evasion of duty of about K2.2 million,” said ACB spokesperson Egrita Ndala.

She further  revealed that both Murekezi and Nyasulu were taken to Court in 2008, where they were charged with corrupt transaction by private bodies that is in contradiction of Section 26 of the Corrupt Practices Act in the Laws of Malawi.

While the ACB concluded the prosecution case on the 4th May 2011, Vincent Murekezi jumped bail before the delivery of the judgment, and the case proceeded only against Komani Nyasulu who was convicted and sentenced in April, 2011.

Murekezi’s sentence will run from 2nd February, 2017.

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