Felicien Kabuga at the Hague: Powerful Kenyans helped him evade arrest for 26 long years
Rwanda's most famous genocide suspect Felicien Kabuga whose trial was halted due to his poor health will have to wait longer to be free because no country has yet agreed to host him, according to a story in the authoritative EastAfrican newspaper.
According to the article, Felicien Kabuga, a suspect in Rwanda's genocide, may have been released early by the United Nations Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT). However, he is still being held at a temporary facility and is not truly free. This information was reported in an article titled "Felicien Kabuga: Petty Trader to Alleged Genocide Financier" by The East African.
A two-day plenary was held in Arusha by a panel of 20 judges from the Mechanism. This panel serves as a concluding institution for several UN-endorsed tribunals that have dealt with past conflicts across the globe. Their main goal was to find a resolution to the matter at hand, along with addressing other related issues.
At the age of 89, Kabuga is currently being held at the UN detention center in The Hague, Netherlands. However, unlike those who have been convicted and are awaiting relocation to a different prison, he is not awaiting trial.
The determination of his ultimate destination is contingent upon the willingness of a country to accommodate him. During the plenary on February 26, the judges instructed the Registrar of MICT to persist in searching for potential hosts.
According to the Hague court, Kabuga has been deemed unsuitable for trial.
According to the judges, all nine countries that were asked to provide a home for him in South America and Europe declined the requests.
Connections
During the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, Kabuga was among the top suspects who were sought after due to his alleged involvement. This tragic event claimed the lives of over one million people.
After evading a worldwide manhunt for several years, he was finally apprehended in France on May 16, 2020.
In 1997, Kabuga was charged in absentia, with seven counts related to genocide, including complicity, direct and public incitement, attempted commission, conspiracy, persecution, and extermination.
According to reports, Kabuga has informed MICT officials that he has no intention of returning to his home country of Rwanda, where he faced the accusations of inciting the genocide. Despite being entitled to return to his country of birth, the elderly and ill suspect has vehemently refused to do so.
Due to being an undocumented immigrant, he cannot be sent back to France where he was apprehended. The French authorities, in collaboration with the Mechanism's prosecutor's office, captured him near Paris, effectively ending his 26-year evasion from the law.
According to prosecutors, Kabuga played a significant role in funding the genocide. The court was informed that Felicien Kabuga had a crucial role in financing the atrocities.
In April 2024, Rwanda will observe the 30th anniversary of the tragic genocide.
During a previous media conference in Kigali, Yolande Makolo, the Government Spokesperson, did not make any definite statements about the possibility of receiving the man.
She informed The EastAfrican that they would address that issue when they arrived at the bridge.
Since the tribunal's inception, we have collaborated with them. If there are any issues to be resolved, we will do so together.
According to her, Kigali accepts the ruling of the MICT, although it is disappointed by it.
According to her, it is unfortunate for the victims that it may seem as though the perpetrator has escaped accountability for the severe offenses he is believed to have committed.
The MICT is in search of a nation that is willing to grant his premature release through the designated procedure outlined in the court's laws.
According to the MICT, it is possible for a detainee to be temporarily released, such as for medical reasons, with the stipulation that they must return to detention if they recover. Additionally, if an individual's health continues to decline, the MICT may allow them to spend their remaining days with their family.
Kabuga's attempts to resist being handed over to the Mechanism were unsuccessful when a French Court denied his appeal on September 30, 2020.
During the month of October, the responsibility for his case was transferred to a Trial Chamber led by Judge Lain Bonomy, with Graciela Susana Gatti Santana as the head and judge Elizabeth Ibanda-Nahamya. The case was then handed over to the Arusha division of the Mechanism.
In June 2023, the United Nations Court of Appeal judges ordered a halt to the war crimes trial of the accused due to his deteriorating health. However, they suggested that alternative procedures should be implemented.
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