Félicien Kabuga dies at 91

Félicien Kabuga, the businessman accused of having been one of the masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, has died at the age of 91 while under detention in The Hague, the Netherlands.

His death was announced on Saturday, May 16, by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), which said Kabuga passed away while hospitalised in The Hague.

“The Medical Officer of the United Nations Detention Unit (UNDU) was immediately notified, and the Dutch authorities have commenced the standard procedures and investigations required under Dutch national law,” the statement reads.

The IRMCT added that its President, Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, had ordered “a full inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Kabuga’s death,” assigning Judge Alphons Orie to conduct the inquiry.

Kabuga had been charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity including persecution, extermination, and murder committed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Notoriously referred to as the financier of the Genocide, he allegedly provided large amounts of money and materials used in carrying out the killings.

For example, he is said to have provided trucks that transported the Tutsi to the dreaded "Commune Rouge” in Gisenyi to be killed and thereafter dumped their bodies.

It was also accused of having bought uniforms for the Interahamwe militia, provided places for them to train, and purchased weapons for them.

An arrest warrant against him was issued by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on April 29, 2013. After years as one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, Kabuga was arrested in France on May 16, 2020, and later transferred to the Hague branch of the IRMCT on October 26, 2020.

His trial began on September 29, 2022.

However, on September 8, 2023, the Trial Chamber indefinitely stayed proceedings after determining that Kabuga was unfit to stand trial due to his health condition.

According to the court, he was to remain detained at the United Nations Detention Unit pending arrangements for provisional release to a country willing to receive him.

“At the time of his death, Kabuga was awaiting provisional release to a State willing to accept him on its territory,” the IRMCT said.