Rwanda, Malawi to exchange inmates

The Rwandan government is holding discussions with Malawi to sign a deal which will see inmates exchanged between the two countries.

This is according to Rwanda Correction Service (RGS) Commissioner General of Prisons, George Rwigamba who confirmed that talks involving officials from prison services of the two countries is underway.

Rwigamba said they have already discussed legal aspects, terms and conditions of their agreement with Malawi.

He further said that in such an arrangement there are chances that a Malawian that commits a crime in Rwanda can be tried and sentenced in Rwanda and sent to serve their sentence in Malawi.

He added that the same will apply to a Rwandan committing a crime in Malawi.

It is also said that inmates exchange arrangements could also see Rwandan inmates sentenced in Rwanda transferred to Malawi to serve their jail sentence, and vice versa.

“If there is a fugitive in Rwanda or Malawi, the two countries’ prisons will be able to decide whether to transfer the convicts to serve their sentences in either of the countries,” Rwigamba told KT Press.

Rwigamba said both countries are still studying the conditions in which an inmate from Rwanda would have to serve a sentence in Malawi or vice versa.

Malawi hosts thousands of Rwandan refugees and asylum seekers including 1994 genocide suspects.

Malawi’s Dzaleka Refugee Camp has 5,000 Rwandan refugees.  At least 36 genocide fugitives are also believed to be hiding in Malawi.

Rwanda and Malawi in February 2017 signed an extradition treaty, prisons cooperation and prisoner exchange treaties.

Last year Malawi arrested and sentenced Rwandan Genocide suspect Vincent Murekezi to five years in prison for attempting to evade tax worth Kwacha 2.2 million.

Rwandan authorities want Murekezi to be extradited to Rwanda for crimes he committed in that country but Murekezi is fighting the extradition arguing that Malawi cannot use the February, 2017 treaty to extradite him.