Rwandan Genocide Suspect Dies in Custody
A Rwandan suspect linked to the 1994 genocide has died while in custody at a hospital in The Hague, Netherlands, according to a statement from a U.N. court. This development comes three years after the court determined he was unfit to continue standing trial due to health reasons.
Félicien Kabuga, aged 91, was accused of playing a significant role in the genocide by allegedly financing and encouraging the mass killings of Rwanda’s Tutsi community. His trial commenced in 2022, nearly three decades after the genocide, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 800,000 people over the span of 100 days.
In 2023, judges ruled that Kabuga, suffering from dementia, could not continue with the trial. It was decided that a procedure would be developed to hear evidence without the possibility of conviction.
The U.N. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals announced on Saturday that Kabuga’s death was reported by the medical officer of the U.N. Detention Unit, and an investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding his death.
Kabuga had been on the run since an arrest warrant was issued for him in 2013, accompanied by a $5 million bounty. He was eventually captured in France in 2020, leading to the initiation of his trial two years later.
The charges against Kabuga included genocide, incitement to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, persecution, extermination, and murder. Despite these allegations, Kabuga pleaded not guilty. Had he been convicted, he faced a potential life sentence.
Following the court’s declaration of his unfitness to stand trial, Kabuga remained in detention while the possibility of his provisional release was being considered. His lawyer indicated that Kabuga was unwilling to return to Rwanda, despite the country’s willingness to accept him, due to concerns about potential mistreatment.
The decision that he could not stand trial was met with dissatisfaction from many genocide survivors in Rwanda, who believed that his actions warranted the harshest possible sentence.
The Rwandan genocide was set off on April 6, 1994, when a plane carrying President Juvénal Habyarimana crashed in Kigali after being shot down, killing the leader who belonged to the majority Hutu ethnic group. Notably, Kabuga’s daughter was married to Habyarimana’s son.
