Rwandan Genocide Accused Felicien Kabuga Escapes Sentencing Due to Health Issues
Felicien Kabuga, who was accused of financing the genocide and making propaganda on the radio against the Tutsi ethnic group, will not be sentenced due to his poor health, according to a decision by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT). The 88-year-old Kabuga was diagnosed with severe dementia and deemed unable to defend himself in court. Although the decision disappointed victims of the genocide, the prosecution must still prove its allegations against Kabuga with the same certainty regardless of his inability to attend hearings.
Kabuga was one of the wealthiest individuals in Rwanda and had close connections with the ruling elite during the 1994 genocide, which saw Hutu militia forces and the Rwandan Armed Forces slaughter 800,000 Tutsis and opposition Hutus in just 100 days. RTLM Radio, which Kabuga owned, was the most effective tool in spreading hatred against Tutsis and transforming it into genocide. Kabuga fled to Switzerland while the genocide was underway, then the Democratic Republic of the Congo after his deportation, and evaded police operations in Kenya in 1997 and 2003. He was eventually arrested in Paris in May 2020 and extradited to the IRMCT.
The Tutsi ethnic group was forced into exile following Rwanda’s independence from Belgian rule in 1962, despite having considerable political influence. The rival Hutu group formed a government with Belgium’s support, and the continuing conflict saw Tutsis massacred in their thousands in the following years. Gregoire Kayibanda was elected as Rwanda’s first president in 1961, but his propaganda against the Tutsis led to violence and immigration. Juvenal Habyarimana, who succeeded Kayibanda, continued with discriminatory policies towards Tutsis during his reign.
