Ohio Man Charged with Concealing Participation in Rwandan Genocide Three Decades Later
An Ohio resident, Eric Tabaro Nshimiye, aged 52, was taken into custody by special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on Thursday, according to a news release from the agency. Nshimiye is accused of concealing his involvement in the Rwandan genocide that occurred nearly three decades ago.
The HSI release states that Nshimiye allegedly participated in the murder of Tutsis in Rwanda by striking them on the head with a nail-studded club and subsequently hacking them to death with a machete. His criminal acts include killing a 14-year-old boy and assisting in the rapes of Tutsi women, as mentioned in the release.
The Rwandan genocide transpired in 1994 and resulted in the deaths of approximately 800,000 individuals, mostly members of the Tutsi ethnic minority. This tragic event occurred over a span of 100 days and saw soldiers, police officers, militias, and armed civilians from the Hutu ethnic majority systematically targeting and killing Tutsis. The violence was fueled by local officials and government-sponsored radio broadcasts encouraging the population to attack, rape, rob, and murder their Tutsi neighbors.
Michael J. Krol, an HSI agent, commented on the case by stating, “Nshimiye is accused of lying to conceal his participation in one of the greatest human tragedies of all time.”
The charges against Nshimiye stem from statements he made during the 2019 Boston trial of his former classmate and now-convicted Rwandan genocide perpetrator, Jean Leonard Teganya. According to authorities, Nshimiye lied during his testimony to mask his participation in the genocide.
In 1994, both Nshimiye and Teganya were medical students and prominent student members of the National Revolutionary Movement for Development, the ruling Hutu-majority political party that instigated the genocide. Additionally, they were part of the party’s violent youth wing.
In 2017, Teganya – Nshimiye’s friend and former classmate – was charged with attempting to fraudulently acquire immigration benefits in the United States by concealing his role in the genocide. Nshimiye testified during this trial that neither he nor Teganya took part in the genocide. Teganya was eventually convicted of two counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury in April 2019 and sentenced to eight years in prison.
Nshimiye is said to have fled Rwanda during the summer of 1994 and subsequently made his way to Kenya, where he allegedly provided false information to U.S. immigration officials to gain entry into the country. The release states that Nshimiye settled in Ohio and continued to provide misinformation regarding his role in the Rwandan genocide to secure lawful permanent residency and eventually U.S. citizenship.
Nshimiye will make an appearance in a federal court in Boston at a later date, as stated in the HSI release. If found guilty, he may face up to twenty years in prison and substantial fines.
This case highlights the importance of truthfulness during immigration procedures and the long-term consequences of concealing past wrongdoings.
