Felicien Kabuga, one of the last fugitives wanted for the 1994 Rwandan genocide, has died in UN custody at age 93.
The UN’s Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals said Kabuga died on Saturday in the detention center in The Hague. The court said it has ordered an inquiry into the circumstances of his death.
Kabuga was arrested in France in 2020 after more than 20 years on the run and sent to The Hague to face charges. He was later ruled unfit to stand trial due to dementia and was also deemed too ill to be transferred to Rwanda. With no country willing to take him, he remained in UN detention.
The former businessman and radio station owner was accused of promoting hate speech through his broadcaster, Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines, and of helping arm Hutu militias during the genocide. Prosecutors said his actions contributed to the killing of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 100 days.
Kabuga was among the most wanted suspects from the genocide. The UN tribunal that announced his death handles remaining cases from the former international tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
