Ohio man hid involvement in 1994 Rwanda genocide to enter the US, captured after years of evading authorities.

Ohio Man Arrested for Immigration Fraud Tied to Rwandan Genocide

A man from Ohio, linked to the mass killings during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, has been apprehended for allegedly providing false information on his US immigration forms to conceal his past crimes.

Vincent Nzigiyimfura, who is 65 years old, was taken into custody on June 12 after facing charges from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. These charges include one count of visa fraud and two counts of naturalization fraud.

“Vincent Nzigiyimfura directed and encouraged violence during Rwanda’s genocide and then misled US authorities to start anew here,” stated Matthew Galeotti, the criminal director at the Department of Justice.

Nzigiyimfura, also known as Vincent Muhura, is accused of playing a prominent role in the genocide against the Tutsi population while he was a businessman and butcher from April to July 1994.

According to officials, he not only organized killings but also supplied weapons and transportation to facilitate the mass murders.

He is specifically noted to have navigated the mountainous regions in southern Rwanda, intercepting Tutsis who were fleeing for their lives.

The DOJ alleges that he had plans to obscure his involvement, pretending that the murders had ceased.

After the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) assumed control in mid-July 1994, effectively ending the genocide, which claimed roughly 500,000 to 800,000 lives, Nzigiyimfura fled to Malawi.

In 2008, he applied for an immigration visa to the United States, allegedly using forged documents that portrayed him as a victim who had escaped Rwanda in 1994 due to the genocide.

Aware that he could face legal consequences for the falsehoods in his visa application, he managed to convince a US consular officer and was granted entry into the US in 2009.

By late 2014, he reportedly reasserted the lies to qualify for US citizenship, yet was denied.

In a November interview with US Citizenship and Immigration Services, he allegedly reaffirmed these false statements but still did not receive citizenship.

In 2018, seeking to renew an expired green card, he submitted fraudulent documents again and successfully obtained a green card for another ten years in 2019.

Officials noted that he later applied for an Ohio driver’s license using that green card.

The investigation by the Cincinnati Field Office of the U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, with the help of the Center for Human Rights Violators and War Crimes, is ongoing.

ICE stated, “We are dedicated to pursuing justice for genocide victims to ensure that those who commit such atrocities cannot find refuge in Ohio or elsewhere in the US.”

The allegations against Nzigiyimfura paint a troubling image of the violence inflicted upon Tutsis, and his indictment marks a step toward justice for the victims.