Rwandan-born Ohio man convicted of perjury over 1994 genocide role

Mixed · 2A federal jury in Boston on Tuesday (27 October 2026) convicted Eric Nshimiye, a Rwandan-born US citizen living in Ohio, of lying under oath and obstructing justice in connection with the 1994 Rwandan genocide. 1 2 Mixed · 2The charges stem from testimony Nshimiye gave as a defence witness in the 2019 Boston trial of Jean Leonard Teganya, his former classmate at the medical school in Butare. Nshimiye denied taking part in the genocide or belonging to the ruling National Revolutionary Movement for Development. 1 2 Right · 1Teganya was convicted of perjury and visa fraud charges and sentenced in 2019 to more than eight years in prison. 1

Mixed · 2Prosecutors, citing witnesses, said Nshimiye was in Butare when the violence began, belonged to the party that helped perpetrate the genocide, attacked Tutsis and handed Tutsis over to be raped or killed. Witnesses from Rwanda told jurors they recalled him taking part in killings in Butare, and others said he belonged to the party and to the Interahamwe militia. 1 2 Left · 1Assistant Attorney General A Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said Nshimiye concealed his involvement for nearly three decades, including 'clubbing people to death', lied to immigration officials to become a citizen and lied to a federal jury to protect himself and a fellow perpetrator. 2 Right · 1The defence said the accusations were 'fabricated' and that Nshimiye was not in Butare when the violence began. Attorney Kurt Kerns argued he was charged only after helping a friend by testifying as a character witness. 1

Left · 1According to Al Jazeera, the defence pointed to apparent inconsistencies in government witnesses' accounts, called witnesses who placed Nshimiye in Kigali and elsewhere, noted he was never implicated before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda or the gacaca community courts, and argued Rwandan authorities had interfered by meeting some witnesses before they testified. 2 Mixed · 2Nshimiye entered the US as a refugee in 1995 and worked as a Goodyear engineer in Uniontown, Ohio, when arrested in 2024 by Department of Homeland Security investigators. An immigration fraud charge was dropped before trial. 1 2 Mixed · 2Sentencing is scheduled for January 26. After the verdict, his lawyers asked the court to credit the roughly two and a half years he has spent in custody, arguing that exceeds the usual sentence for these offences and that he should be freed. His son Tresor said the family had expected him to come home. 1 2

Left · 1Al Jazeera notes the case is one of several US prosecutions tied to the genocide, including charges in 2025 against Faustin Nsabumukunzi of New York and Vincent Nzigiyimfura of Ohio for allegedly concealing their roles. 2