Rwandan authorities have received Jean Léonard Teganya, who was deported from the United States over allegations of involvement in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. He is expected to face trial in Rwanda.
Rwanda’s National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) confirmed that Teganya arrived in the country on Monday, November 9, following his deportation. The authority said it had indicted him in 2014 over alleged involvement in genocide and crimes against humanity committed during the 1994 killings.
During the 1994 genocide, Teganya was a medical student at the National University of Rwanda and an intern at Butare University Hospital in the country’s south.
US prosecutors alleged that he was affiliated with the MRND political party and the Interahamwe militia. According to evidence presented by US authorities, he helped lead groups of soldiers searching the hospital for Tutsi patients and refugees hiding there. He was also accused of sexually assaulting women who had sought refuge at the hospital during the genocide.
Teganya was previously convicted in the United States in 2019 on immigration fraud and perjury charges after concealing information about his alleged activities during the genocide while seeking immigration benefits.
A US federal jury found him guilty on two counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury. In July 2019, he was sentenced to 97 months in prison. However, the conviction was not related to genocide or crimes against humanity, which remain separate allegations to be addressed by Rwanda’s judicial system.
His deportation comes after years of legal proceedings in the United States and efforts to have him face trial over his alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide. He is now back in Rwanda, where authorities are seeking to pursue the allegations against him.
