Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga, arrested in France

Felicien Kabuga, a man believed to be the major financier of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide have been arrested and detained by the French security forces on Saturday May 16, 2020.

After about 26 years since the genocide, Kuga, 84, was found in an apartment in Asnieres-Sur-Seine, just north of Paris living under a fake name with the help of his children.

Kabuga who was a businessman and one of the richest men in Rwanda was pursued by the international justice for 26 years for his involvement in the genocide as he was charged with genocide and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

In 1997, Kabuga was indicted on seven count charges: genocide, complicity in genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, attempt to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, persecution and extermination.

During the violence that killed over 800,000 people, Kabuga allegedly financed Hutu extremists by establishing Interahamwe militia and provided training and equipment used in the genocide.

Through his company, he also imported machetes and gardening tools that were used in the the violence.

Mr Kabuga was also the founder of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), a notorious broadcaster that incited the violence by encouraging people to search and kill Tutsi ethnic group.

According French police in a statement,
“Felicien Kabuga is known to have been the financier of the Rwandan genocide.”

The statement also said that, “Kabuga had with impunity stayed in Germany, Belgium, Congo-Kinshasa, Kenya, and Switzerland”

Following proper procedure, Kabuga would be transferred to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) to stand trial.

According to the Serge Brammertz, Chief prosecutor for IRMCT, Kabuga’s arrest “underlines the strength of our determination.”

“The arrest of Felicien Kabuga today is a reminder that those responsible for genocide can be brought to account, even 26 years after their crimes,” he added.

The assassination of the then president Juvenal Habyarimana on 6 April 1994 triggered the 1994 genocide.

Habyarimana’s plane was shot down and all the people on board were killed. Hutu militia blamed the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi rebel group for the incident. The group though denied the allegation.

In what became a massacre, Hutu militia went after Tutsi who were on the hit list they were provided. Many people were killed with machetes in brutal manners.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda convicted many Hutus for their involvement in the genocide and many faced trial in Rwandan community courts.

Former defense minister Augustin Bizmana and military leader Protais Mpiranya are two more people linked with the genocide that are yet to be captured to face trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.