A Rwanda genocide participant, residing in New York, faces allegations of concealing his past to secure American citizenship.
The Long Island Man's Tangled Past
In a chilling reminder of Rwanda's dark history, a Bridgehampton resident is entangled in a web of deceit and charges of immigration fraud. Faustin Nsabumukunzi, a 65-year-old gardener, faced the law on Thursday, accused of concealing his role as a leader in the horrific genocide that ravaged Rwanda in 1994 when seeking U.S. residency and citizenship.
This three-month period, marked by extremist Hutus targeting the ethnic minority Tutsis, claimed an estimated 800,000 lives. According to the indictment unsealed in Central Islip, Long Island, Nsabumukunzi, who served as a local leader during the genocide, had been skillfully hiding his past.
From Protector to Perpetrator
At the onset of the genocide, Nsabumukunzi, holding the title of "Sector Councilor" in Kibirizi, Rwanda, allegedly fueled the violence and bloodshed. Witnesses indicated that he falsely assured Tutsis at public meetings of their safety, only to encourage Hutus to commence the killings behind closed doors[1][2].
Nsabumukunzi is suspected of participating in killings, setting up roadblocks to capture and eliminate Tutsis, and ordering attacks on refuges. Moreover, he allegedly encouraged Hutu men to rape Tutsi women as a means of genocide[2].
A Deceptive Path to the U.S.
Following the atrocities, Nsabumukunzi sought refuge in the U.S., applying for refugee resettlement in 2003. He was granted a green card in 2007 and sought naturalization in 2009 and 2015[2]. In each application, Nsabumukunzi allegedly lied under oath, denying any participation in the genocide[3].
If convicted, Nsabumukunzi faces up to 30 years in prison for the immigration fraud charges[2]. Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, condemned Nsabumukunzi for "participating in heinous acts of violence abroad and then lying his way into a green card and trying to obtain U.S. citizenship."
U.S. Attorney John J. Durham in Brooklyn vowed that "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."
As the trial unfolds, the world once again confronts the deeply disturbing consequences of unchecked extremism, and the enduring call for justice echoes.
- On Thursday, Faustin Nsabumukunzi, a beekeeper in Bridgehampton, appeared in court to face charges of immigration fraud, a shocking turn for the man who once served as a leader in Rwanda's dark history of war-and-conflicts.
- In the indictment unsealed in Central Islip, Long Island, Nsabumukunzi was accused of concealing his past as a perpetrator in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, where he held the position of "Sector Councilor" and allegedly fueled violence against Tutsis.
- Amazingly, Nsabumukunzi managed to deceive the U.S. immigration system, applying for refugee resettlement in 2003, receiving a green card in 2007, and attempting naturalization in 2009 and 2015, denying any participation in the genocide in each application.
- As the general-news and crime-and-justice worlds follow the trial, it serves as a grim reminder of the consequences of unchecked extremism and the enduring call for justice, not just for the victims of the Rwandan genocide, but also for those who seek to escape its shadows and build a new life in peace.
