Rwanda: Leading genocidaire arrested in France

Félicien Kabuga, one of the most wanted men in relation to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, has been arrested in France.

Kabuga, 84, who is alleged to have been the main financier of the ethnic Hutu extremists, was living under a false identity near to the French capital, Paris.

“Every genocide survivor is happy”, the leader of the widows’ group, Avega, said.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) charged Kabuga with seven counts of genocide and crimes against humanity in 1997.

Ibuka, an umbrella organisation of genocide survivors, has said they hope to see him tried in Rwanda, though that is unlikely to happen.

Since the ICTR closed in 2015, any outstanding cases relating to the Rwandan genocide have been taken to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) at The Hague, in The Netherlands.

Kabuga is expected to be handed over to the IRMCT once all appropriate procedures under French law have been carried out.

Rwanda’s National Public Prosecution Authority welcomed the news, saying “Rwanda will continue to collaborate with the IRMCT to ensure that justice is delivered”.

Kabuga, an ethnic Hutu and wealthy businessman, is thought to have been one of the main funders of the genocide, paying for the militias that carried out the killings.

He also funded Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, a notorious broadcaster that encouraged people to go out and kill ethnic Tutsis.

Serge Brammertz, chief prosecutor at the IRMCT said the arrest was “a reminder that those responsible for genocide can be brought to account, even 26 years after their crimes.

“For international justice, Kabuga’s arrest demonstrates that we can succeed when we have the international community’s support”.

[Photo: George Mulala/Reuters]