Rwanda has received Jean Leonard Teganya, a 55-year-old genocide suspect who fled the country in 1994, following his deportation from the United States, where he was convicted of lying about his alleged involvement in the genocide to obtain asylum.
The National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) confirmed his arrival on Monday, November 9, 2026, saying he had been handed over by US authorities to face allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity.
Teganya was indicted by Rwandan prosecutors in 2014 over his alleged involvement in atrocities committed in Butare, now part of Huye District in the Southern Province.
The case dates back to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, during which approximately 800,000 people were killed over 100 days, most of them members of the Tutsi community.
At the time, Teganya was a medical student at the National University of Rwanda and an intern at the University Hospital of Butare, where Tutsi patients and refugees had sought shelter.
According to evidence presented during his trial in the United States, Teganya was a member of the MRND, the ruling Hutu-dominated political party that played a role in inciting the genocide. He was also associated with its youth wing, the Interahamwe.
US prosecutors presented evidence that he led groups of soldiers and Interahamwe members through the hospital searching for Tutsi patients and refugees. Those found were taken behind the maternity ward and killed.
The evidence also linked him to the murders of seven Tutsi people, including three patients at the hospital and four students from his dormitory. Prosecutors further presented evidence that he participated in five rapes involving two Tutsi women who had sought refuge at the hospital.
Teganya fled Rwanda in mid-July 1994 as the genocide came to an end, travelling through the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and India before reaching Canada in 1999.
He applied for asylum in Canada, but his application was rejected after authorities determined that he had been complicit in atrocities committed at the Butare hospital. Following approximately 15 years of immigration proceedings, Canadian authorities ordered his deportation.
Instead of complying with the order, Teganya crossed into the United States on August 3, 2014, entering through Houlton, Maine. He was arrested after crossing the Canadian border on foot and subsequently applied for asylum.
However, US authorities established that he had failed to disclose his membership in the MRND and Interahamwe, as well as his alleged activities during the genocide, in his immigration application and subsequent proceedings.
On April 5, 2019, a federal jury in Boston convicted him on two counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury. He was sentenced on July 1, 2019, to 97 months in prison by US District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV.
His convictions were subsequently upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in May 2021.
The American proceedings focused on his false statements to immigration authorities and did not amount to a conviction for genocide. The allegations concerning his involvement in the 1994 killings remain the subject of the separate case pursued by Rwandan prosecutors.
Following his deportation, the NPPA expressed appreciation to US judicial authorities for their cooperation in facilitating the return of genocide suspects to Rwanda.
The authority also acknowledged continued collaboration between the two countries in mutual legal assistance and efforts to combat impunity for genocide crimes.
Teganya's return adds to Rwanda's ongoing efforts to bring suspected perpetrators of the 1994 genocide back to face justice, including individuals who fled the country and remained abroad for decades.
In 2025, another genocide suspect, Francois Gasana, was extradited from Norway to Rwanda over allegations of involvement in the 1994 atrocities.
With Teganya now back in Rwanda, the next stage of the case will be handled by the country's judicial authorities. The NPPA has not announced a court appearance date or provided further details of the proceedings.
