Руандалық геноцидші және бизнесмен Фелисьен Кабуга ісі

Rwandan businessman and génocidaire

Félicien Kabuga (born 1 March 1933) is a génocidaire and Rwandan businessman who played a major role in the run up to the Rwandan genocide. A multimillionaire, he was closely connected to dictator Juvénal Habyarimana's Hutu nationalist MRND party and the Akazu, an informal group of Hutu extremists who helped lead the Rwandan genocide. financier of Hutu extremist media outlets, such as the RTLM radio station and Kangura magazine, which advocated for the killing of the Tutsi minority. In 2020, Kabuga was arrested by the French police in Greater Paris at the age of 87 after 26 years as a fugitive. In 1993, at an RTLM fundraising meeting organised by the MRND, Félicien Kabuga allegedly publicly defined the purpose of RTLM as the defence of Hutu Power. During the ICTR's so called "media trial", former RTLM presenter Georges Ruggiu named Kabuga as the "Chairman Director general" of the station, with duties such as "presiding over RTLM" and "representing RTLM." From January 1993 to March 1994, a total of 500,000 machetes were imported into Rwanda, statistically one for every three adult Hutus in the country. Kabuga has been named as one of the main importers of these machetes.

On 16 May 2020, police arrested Kabuga, aged 87, in Asnières sur Seine, near Paris, France; he had spent 26 years as a fugitive. French authorities have expressed desire to see him tried for crimes against humanity committed against the Tutsis of Rwanda. He was arrested by French police as the result of a joint investigation with the IRMCT Office of the Prosecutor, assisted by Interpol and law enforcement agencies in Rwanda, Belgium, and the United States. On 27 May, Kabuga denied the charges, but was denied bail. On 3 June and then on 30 September 2020, French justice system approved the handover of Kabuga to the IRMCT. On 26 October 2020, he was transferred from France to the custody of the IRMCT branch in The Hague. He pleaded not guilty. In March 2023, Kabuga's trial was suspended to assess claims by his attorneys that he suffered from dementia and was not mentally competent to stand trial. The court announced that it had received an independent medical report regarding Kabuga's mental fitness and would be holding further hearings over the coming weeks. Several psychiatrists subsequently testified that Kabuga suffered from both vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease and was not fit to stand trial. On June 7th, 2023, judges at a United Nations war crimes court at the Hague ruled Kabuga unfit to stand trial. According to the judges, Kabuga was "no longer capable of meaningful participation in his trial". This is based on his medical records and reports from staff who cared for him. The court suggested the judges adopt an alternative procedure that resembles a trial as closely as possible but without the possibility of a conviction.

Kabuga is married to Josephine Mukazitoni and has 11 children. Two of his daughters are married to two of Juvénal Habyarimana's sons.