The long legal battle surrounding one of the most prominent figures linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide has come to a close. Felicien Kabuga, a former businessman and media executive, has died in custody in The Hague at the age of 93.
According to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), Kabuga passed away in the hospital this past Saturday. At the time of his death, he was awaiting transfer to a country that had agreed to receive him, following the suspension of his legal proceedings.
Kabuga's history is inextricably linked to one of the darkest periods of the 20th century. Prosecutors had accused him of playing a central role in financing and supporting the genocide, during which more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in a brutal 100-day period in 1994. He faced grave charges, including genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement to genocide, and crimes against humanity.
A key part of the prosecution's case centered on Kabuga's support for the extremist broadcaster Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM). The station was notorious for airing propaganda and hate speech that fueled the attacks against Tutsis. Furthermore, Kabuga was accused of facilitating the arming of Hutu militias, specifically through the distribution of machetes used in the killings. While his defense team maintained that he was primarily a businessman with limited influence over the radio station, the allegations remained a cornerstone of the IRMCT's case.
For over two decades, Kabuga evaded international justice. Following an extensive global manhunt, he was eventually apprehended near Paris in 2020, where he had been living under false identity documents. He was subsequently transferred to The Hague to stand trial before the IRMCT, the body tasked with concluding remaining cases from UN tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
However, the trial never reached a final verdict. In 2023, judges ruled that Kabuga was no longer fit to stand trial due to deteriorating health and advanced dementia. Although proceedings were halted, he remained in detention as no country had initially agreed to take him in.
Following the news of his death, the court has announced that an inquiry has been ordered into the circumstances surrounding his passing. Until the end, Kabuga had pleaded not guilty to all charges leveled against him.
Reference(s):
Rwanda genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga dies in custody at 93
cgtn.com
