A New York man has been charged by federal authorities for allegedly concealing his role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide to gain U.S. citizenship.
“Faustin Nsabumukunzi, 65, was charged with hiding from US authorities his role as a local leader in Rwanda when the genocide began in 1994,” reported CNN. “An estimated 800,000 Tutsis were killed during the three-month-long genocide. The indictment of the Bridgehampton man was unsealed in Central Islip on Long Island.”
“At an initial court appearance, Nsabumukunzi pleaded not guilty to visa fraud and attempted naturalization fraud and was released on $250,000 bail. The bail package requires home detention and GPS monitoring, but he will be allowed to continue working as a gardener,” it added.
Nsabumukunzi’s lawyer, Evan Sugar, denied the charges and referred to his client as a “law-abiding beekeeper and gardener who has lived on Long Island for more than two decades,” adding that he was “a victim of the Rwandan genocide who lost scores of family members and friends to the violence.”
Sugar said Nsabumukunzi earned refugee status and permanent residence to the United States due to the alleged persecution he faced during the genocide. However, prosecutors say that witnesses have alleged Nsabumukunzi would falsely assure Tutsis that they would be protected during public meetings while privately urging Hutus to slaughter them. Witnesses also allege he encouraged Hutus to rape Tutsi women.
“Prosecutors said that when the charges were described to Nsabumukunzi as he was arrested Thursday morning, he responded: ‘I know I’m finished,’” noted CNN.
Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, said that Nsabumukunzi committed “heinous acts of violence abroad and then lied his way into a green card and tried to obtain U.S. citizenship.”
“For over two decades, he got away with those lies and lived in the United States with an undeserved clean slate, a luxury that his victims will never have,” said U.S. Attorney John J. Durham.
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