Cape Town - Captured fugitive and Rwandan national Ukiliho Fulgence has yet to decide if he will apply for bail after his legal team received a lengthy charge sheet with 54 charges against him.
Fulgence was arrested on a grape farm in Paarl on May 24 as one of the world’s most wanted genocide fugitives.
He is alleged to have orchestrated the killing of 2 000 Tutsi refugees –women, men, children and elderly – at the Nyange Catholic Church during the 1994 genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda.
He has been at large since 2001.
The SA Operational Task Team set up to arrest him comprised the SAPS’s crime intelligence unit, the departments of Home Affairs, International Relations and Co-operation, Justice, as well as the National Prosecuting Authority led by the Hawks.
Fulgence faces nine counts of fraud, 10 counts of the Contravention of the Refugees Act and 35 counts of Contravention of the Immigration Act.
The State alleges Fulgence pretended to be someone else by giving a false name and stating he was a Burundian national.
Court proceedings had been postponed at a previous appearance at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court after State advocate Nathan Adriaanse asked the court for such indulgence when the state received two lever arch files with new evidence.
He told the court that due to the voluminous nature of the arch lever files he needed time to draft a full charge sheet.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “The State provided the comprehensive charge sheet to the defence (last week) Tuesday morning.
“The defence informed the court on June 9 that they were informed that Fulgence has been moved from Pollsmoor Prison to Helderstroom Prison, Caledon, which made it difficult for them to consult with their client.
“The defence requested the case to be postponed for them to consult with their client.
The State did not oppose the request as it was in the interests of justice for the matter to be postponed for them to consult their client,” said Ntabazalila.
The matter was postponed to June 20 for consultation and for the defence to indicate if they would apply for bail.
Cape Times