Protais Zigiranyirazo, who served as the prefect of the former Ruhengeri prefecture in the government that planned and executed the Genocide against the Tutsi, has died in Niger, following the deaths of two others in the same country.
The eight Rwandans transferred in Niger in 2021 are: Nzuwonemeye François Xavier, Nteziryayo Alphonse, Muvunyi Tharcisse, Ntaganira André, Nsengiyumva Anatole, Mugiraneza Prosper, Sagahutu Innocent and Protais Zigiranyirazo who passed this Sunday.
The death of Protais Zigiranyirazo was announced by his son, Antoine Mukiza Zigiranyirazo, on Monday, August 4, 2025. He said that his father passed away on Sunday, August 3 in Niamey.
Protais Zigiranyirazo, who served as the Prefect of the Ruhengeri Prefecture from 1974 to 1989 and was the brother of Agathe Kanziga, the wife of former President Juvénal Habyarimana, has died at the age of 87.
Zigiranyirazo, who was part of the government that planned and executed the Genocide against the Tutsi and was tried by the former International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in late 2008. However, he appealed the verdict, and, in 2009, he was acquitted in the chambers of the tribunal.
Protais Zigiranyirazo who was served as prefect of the former Ruhengeri prefecture, passed away following the earlier deaths of two other Rwandans among the eight transferred to Niger.
On June, 10, 2023, Lt Col Muvunyi Tharcisse, also one of the eight Rwandans transferred to Niger, died in that country.
Muvunyi, who had served as the head of the Senior Military Academy (ESO), was found dead in the bathroom. He had been complaining of illness and had requested to be treated in the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Lt Col Anatole Nsengiyumva, who once served as the Commander of the Army in the former Gisenyi Prefecture, was also found dead in May 2024in the house he shared with others. He has also been ill.
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