Genocide suspect Jean-Paul Micomyiza, 49, finally arrived in Kigali, Rwanda early on Wednesday, April 27, after being extradited by Sweden.

The National Prosecutor’s Office (NPPA) spokesperson Faustin Nkusi issued a statement in which he praised the Swedish judicial authorities for the move.

The Swedish government gave the green light earlier this month for the extradition of Micomyiza, to Rwanda, where he is accused of involvement in the 1994 genocide of the Tutsis.

This happened three months after a Supreme Swedish court on 21 December 2021 found no reason why the Rwandan arrested in the Nordic country in 2020 should not be extradited to Kigali where he is wanted for crimes he is alleged to have committed during the 1994 genocide.

Reports in the Swedish media then indicate that the government in the Nordic country has decided to grant Kigali’s request for extradition of Micomyiza on 31 March.

Micomyiza is accused of leading a militia and mutilating, murdering and raping during the 1994 genocide. His Swedish lawyers will now turn to the European Court of Justice, it is reported.

He was arrested on November 17, 2020.

In December 2021, reports from Sweden indicated that the Supreme Court there saw no legal obstacle to extraditing Micomyiza to Rwanda.

His lawyers, Thomas Bodström and Hanna Larsson Rampe, opposed the court’s ruling, claiming that the legal system in Rwanda has serious shortcomings, a claim made by most defenders of suspected mass murderers elsewhere.

The suspect has lived in Gothenburg, a large city in Sweden located outside the Göta River on the country’s west coast, for 15 years.

He was arrested as a result of Rwanda’s extradition request, suspected of involvement in the 1994 Tutsi genocide.

Micomyiza applied for but was denied citizenship in Sweden because he is politically active.

During the Tutsi genocide in 1994, Micomyiza was a second-year student at the then National University of Rwanda, at the Faculty of Applied Sciences. As a university student, he was also a member of a committee called the Comité de Crise, which was crucial in committing the genocide.