The ex-Rwandan police officer accused of participating in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, has abandoned his bail application and has applied for asylum in South Africa.

Fulgence Kayishema was arrested last month on a Paarl grape farm in the Cape Winelands region. He has been on the run since 2001 after the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanada (ICTR) indicted him for genocide.

He is one of four remaining fugitives being hunted by UN investigators for their role in the genocide. Kayishema allegedly participated in one of the genocide’s bloodiest episodes. He is said to have ordered the deaths of some 2000 people – men, women and children – who sought refuge in a church.

RELATED: Body of missing Gqeberha woman found in stormwater drain

Seeking asylum in South Africa

Kayishema’s lawyer, Juan Smuts, told journalists that his client “fears for his life, if and when extradited.” He told AFP reporters after Kayishema appeared in Cape Town’s Magistrates Court, that he has been instructed to “apply for asylum” in South Africa “which will indeed be attended to before close of play today.”

Smuts adds that the asylum application will likely delay Kayishema’s trial, and suspend his extradition.

62-year-old Kayishema has gone under numerous aliases – using false documents – during his 22 years on the run. He also faces 54 immigration-related charges in South Africa.

RELATED: The first Peace Cathedral inaugurated in Tbilisi

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) revealed in a statement that the accused “abandoned his bail application and will instead launch an asylum application today” reports TimesLIVE. The statement did not indicate on what grounds Kayishema was applying for asylum.

Kayishema has denied any involvement in the violence during the genocide, however he has apologised for the killings. He will remain in custody while the case has been postponed to August 18 for further investigation.