Ex-FDLR Leader Callixte Mbarushimana Dies Amidst French Genocide Investigation

Callixte Mbarushimana, a former senior political leader of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), has reportedly died in France. Reports of his death began circulating on social media on October 5, 2026 evening. Mbarushimana spent much of his later life in France. He was never convicted of the crimes alleged against him. His death comes as a French investigation into allegations dating back to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi remains unresolved. Mbarushimana was born on July 24, 1963, in Ndusu, in what is now Musanze District. He trained as an information technology specialist. Around 1992, he joined the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kigali. He remained in Rwanda after expatriate UN staff were evacuated when the genocide began in April 1994. His conduct during the genocide later became the subject of investigations. Witnesses accused him of using his position against Tutsi colleagues and other civilians. The allegations were serious. They included handing UNDP vehicles and supplies to the former Rwandan army and Interahamwe militia. He was also accused of helping compile lists of people to be killed. Investigators linked him to the deaths of about 32 people. Among them was Florence Ngirumpatse, then UNDPs personnel chief in Kigali. President Paul Kagame revealed in speech on April 7, 2024 that Florence was his cousin and they had actually been in contact. She was killed along with people she had sheltered. A UN war-crimes investigator, Tony Greig, reported that Mbarushimana was implicated in Ngirumpatses killing. Greig also reported that Mbarushimana personally shot two other victims. His investigation drew on about 20 to 25 witnesses who alleged that Mbarushimana was directly involved in killings or helped identify UN staff. The witnesses also accused him of supporting the Interahamwe. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda examined the file. It did not indict him. He was dismissed by the United Nations in 2001. He later worked for the UN in Angola and Kosovo. He obtained political-refugee status in France around 2002 or 2003. He then worked in information technology in the Paris area. Ngirumpatse had worked for the United Nations for more than 15 years. She had also been jailed by Rwandas former government in 1990 during a crackdown on suspected opponents. Former colleagues said Hutu extremists disliked her. When the genocide began, Ngirumpatse was trapped at her home near Camp Kigali. She was with a niece, other children and neighbours. Many of the children were schoolgirls she had taken in. Some accounts put their ages between eight and 18. She believed her UN status would protect them. Kagame later said he spoke to her several times by satellite telephone. She told him that militia members were coming to the house. She also reported that women there had been repeatedly raped. She described the situation as being like death. Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) forces could not reach the area. A rescue operation was eventually planned. But on May 16, 1994, militia members entered the house. They killed Ngirumpatse and most of the people there. One niece escaped with help from a neighbour. Former UN officials later said the attack happened shortly before a planned rescue. They said a UN armoured vehicle was supposed to evacuate the group. The rescue had reportedly received authorisation. The attackers struck before the operation could take place. The circumstances raised questions about whether information about the rescue had been leaked. Mbarushimana was a UNDP computer specialist and colleague of Ngirumpatse. Former UN officials said she had distrusted him before the genocide. She reportedly suspected that he had links to the Interahamwe. One account says Mbarushimana insisted on knowing her address after the killings began. A witness later told former UN official Charles Petrie that Mbarushimana was seen celebrating the deaths in a bar. He was never convicted over Ngirumpatses de