Rwandan genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga dies in custody
Felicien Kabuga, long branded one of the world’s most-wanted fugitives and a central suspect in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, has died in custody at 93, the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals confirmed.
Felicien Kabuga, long branded one of the world’s most-wanted fugitives and a central suspect in the 1994 Rwanda genocide, has died in custody at 93, the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals confirmed.
Prosecutors accused Kabuga of using his wealth and influence to encourage and finance the killings that swept Rwanda between April and June 1994, when Hutu extremists murdered more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in just 100 days. After more than two decades on the run, he was arrested in France in 2020 and extradited to The Hague, ending a lengthy international manhunt.
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His trial opened in 2022 on charges of genocide, incitement to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and the crimes of persecution, extermination, and murder. Proceedings were later halted when judges found him unfit to stand trial because of dementia, a ruling that drew anger from many genocide survivors in Rwanda who believed his alleged crimes warranted the maximum sentence.
