Summary of this article
Félicien Kabuga, one of the most wanted Rwandan genocide suspects, died on Saturday in a hospital in The Hague while in UN custody.
Kabuga was charged with bankrolling the 1994 genocide, funding Hutu militias and the notorious RTLM hate radio that incited the mass killings of around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The UN court had ruled him unfit to stand trial in 2023 due to advanced dementia, leaving him in legal limbo for years.
Félicien Kabuga, a major suspect in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, died at the age of 91 in a hospital in The Hague while in the custody of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT).
Kabuga, once one of Rwanda’s richest businessmen, was arrested in France in 2020 after 26 years on the run. He faced charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and incitement to genocide for allegedly financing Interahamwe militias and purchasing weapons and machetes used in the massacres.
The UN court declared him unfit for trial in 2023 due to severe dementia. An inquiry has been ordered into the circumstances of his death as per standard procedures. Kabuga’s passing brings an end to one of the longest pursuits of justice related to the Rwandan genocide, though many survivors expressed disappointment that he was never convicted.
