Cape Town – Captured fugitive Ukiliho Kayishema Fulgence will remain in custody until June 2 after the State was granted a 7-day postponement for further investigation.
Fulgence, who also pretended to be a Burundian national with the name Fulgence Dende-Minana, is charged with two counts of fraud and three counts of transgression of the Immigration Act.
He was on Thursday arrested at a farm in Paarl after an Interpol Red Notice issued by the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (UN IRMCT).
He was wanted by the IRMCT for genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Rwanda in 1994 and was arrested by a multi-disciplinary team including a South African Operational Task Team (OTT) comprising of Crime Intelligence, the Department of Home Affairs, Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco), Interpol, Department of Justice, National Prosecuting Authority led by the Hawks, Crimes Against the State.
At the time of his arrest at the grape farm in Paarl on May 24, the 61-year-old fugitive was living under a false identity – Donatien Nibashumba.
After Fulgence’s first court appearance at Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Friday, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “The State alleges that on January 20, 2000, the accused unlawfully, falsely and with intent to defraud and to prejudice the Department of Home Affairs gave out and pretended to be Fulgence Dende-Minana, and that he was a Burundian national.
“On June 10, 2004, he again ... pretended to be Fulgence Dende-Minana, a Burundian national when applying for formal recognition of refugee status although he knew that his real name is Fulgence Kayishema, a Rwandan national.
“The state also charges the accused on two counts of contravention of Section 49(1)(a) of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, read with Section 1(1) of the Act in that on May 24, 2023, unlawfully and wrongfully remained in the country after his refugee status expired on June 9, 2006.
“He also unlawfully and wrongfully for purposes of entering and remaining in the country, made false representation by conduct, statement, or otherwise. He was also charged with contravention of Section 37(b) of the Refugees Act 130 of 1998, read with Section 1 of the said act in that on May 24, 2023, he unlawfully and wrongfully failed to comply with or contravened the conditions subject to which any visa had been issued to him under the act,” said Ntabazalila.
State prosecutor Nathan Adriaanse argued that it was in the interest of justice for the court to grant a postponement.
Adriaanse said that the State would oppose Fulgence’s bail application.
“There is a warrant of arrest that was issued against the accused on March 8, 2019. It is seeking he be indicted on four charges which are genocide, complicity in the genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and extermination as a crime against humanity.
“We are going to oppose bail as we intend to add more charges related to the Immigration and Refugees Act as more evidence was obtained during his arrest,” said Adriaanse.
Adriaanse also submitted that a centralisation certificate would be obtained to prosecute the accused in Cape Town. The first two crimes were committed in Cape Town while the last three were committed in Paarl, which would have necessitated the accused to appear in Cape Town Magistrate’s Court and Bellville Magistrate’s Court.
Cape Times