Open Secrets petitions the NPA to prosecute South African Willem Ehlers for aiding and abetting the Rwandan Genocide
PRESS RELEASE| 2 July 2024 | Cape Town, South Africa
(Cape Town, South Africa)- On 20 June 2024, Open Secrets submitted a memorandum to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) motivating for the prosecution of Willem “Ters” Ehlers, a South African currently residing in Pretoria, for the offence of aiding and abetting the Rwandan Genocide. The memorandum was sent in terms of section 27 of the NPA Act which permits any person who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a specified offence has been committed, to report the matter to the NPA.
In May 2023, Open Secrets published the investigative report, The Secretary: How Middlemen and Corporations armed the Rwandan Genocide . The Secretary is a call to hold to account arms dealers and banks, like BNP Paribas involved in the Rwandan genocide. This investigative report is about the global nature of civil wars and genocide.
Ehlers, who currently resides in Pretoria, facilitated an arms deal on behalf of Théoneste Bagosora – one of the architects of the Rwandan Genocide – whereby two large weapons shipments were flown to Goma (in what was then Zaire) and taken across the border to Rwanda. The transaction and subsequent shipment happened in June 1994 – at the climax of the Rwandan Genocide and in contravention of a United Nations arms embargo on Rwanda.
The memorandum, drawing on Open Secrets’ investigative work explains how Ehlers, secretary to former President Botha, established himself as a well-connected businessman in the early 1990s. When Theoneste Bagosora needed weapons, Ehlers was equipped to assist. Ehlers’ actions contributed to the exacerbation of the genocide and the devastating loss of life.
Open Secrets’ believes there is sufficient evidence to satisfy the elements of the offence of aiding and abetting genocide under customary international law. Holding Ehlers accountable is not only a matter of addressing past wrongs but also of setting a precedent that reinforces the rule of law and prevents future violations of international humanitarian law.
Open Secrets urges the NPA to rigorously investigate the evidence presented and to proceed with the prosecution in accordance with South Africa’s obligations under international law.
