Dr. Leopold Munyakazi, a visiting French professor at Maryland’s Goucher College, was recently accused by the Rwandan Prosecutor General of participating directly in the 1994 Rwandan genocide and is now a candidate for extradition in order to stand trial. Munyakazi, a Hutu, is said to have taken part in the genocide where Hutu’s killed 500,000 Tutsi’s and moderate Hutus. Munyakazi is currently under house arrest for illegally entering the country in 1999. Goucher President Sanford J. Ungar suspended Munyakazi from his teaching duties in December after a NBC reporter doing a story on war criminals in the U.S.  approached the University and put Ungar in contact with the Rwandan Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga. Dr. Alison de Forges, an expert for the Human Rights Watch and Goucher professor said she doubted the veracity of Ngoga’s indictment, largely due to the fact that it was drawn up after Munyakazi spoke out against the current Rwandan government’s labeling of the conflict as “genocide” during a speech at the University of Delaware. Munyakazi strongly denies the charges and in a statement to the associated press says that the government is raising these charges due to the fact that his wife is Tutsi and he protected her and her family during the conflict.

More from the NY Times
More from the Associated Press
More from All Africa