Rwanda takes custody of former student deported from US

Jean Leonard Teganya, a former medical student, is back in Rwanda to stand trial for crimes committed during the 1994 genocide. His return follows a legal journey that spanned three countries and lasted more than three decades.

Rwandan authorities confirmed that Teganya landed at Kigali International Airport on the evening of November 9, 2026. He was escorted by US security officers and transferred directly to local prosecutors. This marks the first time he has faced his home country's criminal justice system for the alleged offenses.

The National Public Prosecution Authority in Rwanda stated that Teganya was indicted in 2014. The charges involve genocide and crimes against humanity in the former Butare prefecture in southern Rwanda. Officials have not yet released the specific details of the allegations in this local case.

Born in 1971, Teganya studied medicine at the National University of Rwanda in Butare during the genocide. He also completed practical training at the University Teaching Hospital in the same city. He left Rwanda in July 1994 as the conflict ended. US court records show he traveled through Zaire, Kenya, and India before arriving in Canada in 1999.

Teganya sought asylum in Canada, but his applications were rejected in 2002 and 2012. Canadian officials argued that his survival suggested he shared the intent to kill Tutsi and moderate Hutu populations. After about 15 years of legal battles, he evaded a deportation order. On August 3, 2014, he crossed into the United States on foot near Houlton, Maine, and was immediately taken into custody.

In the United States, Teganya was not tried for genocide. Prosecutors focused on false statements he made to immigration authorities. They alleged he hid his political affiliations and activities during the conflict. A federal jury found him guilty of two counts of immigration fraud and three counts of perjury on April 5, 2019.

Evidence from the US trial described Teganya's conduct at the Butare hospital. Prosecutors claimed he was affiliated with the ruling party and the Interahamwe militia. They said he led soldiers through the hospital to find Tutsi patients. The US Department of Justice stated that trial evidence linked him to the killings of three Tutsi individuals and his participation in five rapes of two Tutsi women sheltering at the facility.

Teganya was sentenced to 97 months in prison on July 1, 2019. The sentence included an enhancement for obstruction of justice. He appealed the decision, but the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld his convictions in May 2021. His US convictions were specifically for immigration fraud and perjury, not genocide.

Teganya now faces a separate prosecution in Rwanda. His arrival does not constitute a conviction in his home country. He will have the opportunity to present his defense in court as prosecutors work to establish his individual responsibility. The National Public Prosecution Authority has not specified when he will appear in court or listed the individual allegations in the 2014 indictment.