The former hotel manager during the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagira who inspired the controversial movie ‘Hotel Rwanda’ has been arrested through international cooperation and deported to the East African nation.
Confirming his arrest in a short statement on Monday, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) said Rusesebagina would be charged.
Donning a sharp suit and wearing a big smile, Rusesabagira was briefly paraded before journalists before he was whisked away into detention.
“RIB informs the general public that, through international cooperation, Paul Rusesabagina was arrested and is in the custody of RIB,” the investigative body said.
“Rusesabagina is suspected to be the founder, leader, sponsor and member of violent, armed, extremist terror outfits including “Mouvement rwandais pour le Changement démocratique (MRCD) and PDR-Ihumure, operating out of various places in the region and abroad.”
Rwandan Police said Rusesabagina has been subject of an international arrest warrant to answer charges of serious crime including terrorism, arson, kidnap and murder, perpetrated against unarmed, innocent Rwandan civilians on its territory, including in Nyabimata – Nyaruguru district in June 2018 and in Nyungwe – Nyamagabe district in December 2018.
“He is currently detained at Remera Police Station in Kigali while his case file is being processed in accordance with Rwandan criminal procedure,” DR Thierry Murangira, acting RIB Spokesperson, told reporters in Kigali.
Rusesabagina has largely been living in western capitals, while MRCD and PDR-Ihumure terror groups have a presence in and outside the region.
In 1994, a low-key hotel manager in Rwanda became a coontroversial international hero for allegedly sheltering and saving the lives of more than 1,200 people from horrific ethnic slaughter.
Rusesabagina used to say his own political organization, the Party for Democracy in Rwanda (PDR) which was then branded as a terrorist organisation in Rwanda, was not able to operate openly in the country.
It is based in Brussels, which has a large Rwandan exile community.
Most genocide survivors in Rwanda describe Rusesabagina as “a person made by Hollywood” and said he had no credibility, “even with people who were in the hotel” during the massacres.
“He got a Hollywood persona and thinks he can exploit it politically” one of them said.
CU/abj/APA