KIGALI, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The UK ambassador to Rwanda Jo Lomas said Thursday that prosecution in her country has initiated investigations against five Rwandans accused of participating in the 1994 genocide against Tutsi.
The envoy announced this after a meeting with Rwanda's justice minister, Johnston Busingye in the capital Kigali.
Rwanda has demanded the extradition or trial in UK of the five suspects, including: Emmanuel Nteziryayo, Vincent Brown aka Bajinya, Charles Munyaneza, Celestin Mutabaruka and Celestin Ugirashebuja, according to the ministry of justice.
The envoy explained that this was a justice issue which will be handled by the judiciary.
She stressed that while this was not a political matter she had assured the justice ministry that initial investigations had started to determine whether the suspects can be prosecuted.
Minister Busingye stressed the need for speedy investigations and prosecution of the suspects to avoid impunity if they cannot be extradited.
Bajinya, Munyaneza, Ugirashebuja and Nteziryayo won a legal battle in UK court in 2008 against their extradition to Rwanda after judges ruled that there was a risk they would be denied justice.
But Busingye Thursday dismissed the claims, saying several countries have since been extraditing Rwandan suspects to Rwanda who receive fair trial.
Bajinya is said to have been part of the "inner circle" of then president Juvenal Habyarimana who later led a militia that he ordered to cut a suspected Tutsi into pieces to prevent all chances of recovery while Mutabaruka is alleged to have led a militia that used spears and machetes to kill genocide victims in a church.
Charles Munyaneza, Emmanuel Nteziryayo and Celestin Ugirashebuja were mayors in southern Rwanda during the genocide.
