At The Hague, Rwanda genocide Suspect Felicien Kabuga faces trial

A businessman and genocide advocate from Rwanda named Félicien Kabuga was a key figure in the events leading up to the mass murder of Tutsis in Rwanda.

Rwanda genocide suspects Félicien Kabuga is put on trial at The Hague.

A UN tribunal in The Hague has begun hearing evidence against one of the alleged organizers and financiers of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Authorities accuse Félicien Kabuga of using a radio station to foment hatred towards ethnic Tutsis and of helping hit squads kill ethnic Tutsis. Approximately 800,000 moderate Hutus and Tutsis perished in the genocide.

Although Mr. Kabuga has entered a not guilty plea on his behalf, he has declined to show up for the trial’s start. Mr. Kabuga, who is now in his late 80s, was once one of Rwanda’s richest men and was for many years a wanted man.

After eluding capture for approximately 26 years, he was finally apprehended in Paris, the capital of France, two years ago.

French authorities spied on Mr. Kabuga’s children in order to locate him at his third-floor apartment in the Asnières-Sur-Seine neighborhood of Paris, where he had been residing under a false identity while traveling on a passport from an unspecified African nation.

Mr. Kabuga is said to have resided in a number of East African nations in the past, including Kenya, where he and his family had business connections.

Genocide’s Execution

Mr. Kabuga is accused of establishing a radio station that was used to incite one ethnic group, the Hutus, to take up guns against another, the Tutsis, which the prosecution has described as the most potent weapon in the genocide’s execution.

It is claimed that the radio station blasted nasty messages referring to Tutsis as “cockroaches”

Additionally, he is charged with funding and providing machetes to militia organizations.

2020 saw Mr. Kabuga’s first court appearance, and his attorneys pleaded not guilty.

Judges decided that the trial should proceed despite their claims that he is too frail to stand trial.

At the start of the trial, the presiding judge announced that Mr. Kabuga was in good health but had chosen not to show up in person or watch the proceedings by video link from his incarceration facility.

In a statement, Mr. Kabuga said that the court had refused to allow him to select his own attorney and that he had “no faith” in that attorney.

One of the final suspected genocide planners to stand trial at an international tribunal is him.

Before it ceased operations in 2015, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which had its headquarters in Tanzania, had condemned more than 60 genocide organizers.

The tribunal that is considering Mr. Kabuga’s case has taken up the remaining cases.

In a trial that could run for years, the prosecution is anticipated to bring more than 50 witnesses.

Genocide survivors have demanded prompt punishment out of concern that he would perish while still enjoying the benefit of the doubt.

Felicien Kabuga Age, Family, and Early Life 

Felicien Kabuga is 89 years old and was born in March 1, 1933, in Byumba, Rwanda. Kabuga was born in Munig, in the Rwandan province of Byumba’s commune of Mukarange.

Among other economic activities, he accumulated his money via owning tea fields in northern Rwanda.

Felicien Kabuga Career, What is his Profession?

A prominent figure in the events leading up to the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda was the businessman and genocidaire Félicien Kabuga. He was a multimillionaire who had connections to the Akazu, an unofficial group of Hutu extremists that helped lead the genocide in Rwanda, as well as the Hutu nationalist MRND party of dictator Juvénal Habyarimana.

The main source of funding for Hutu extremist media outlets like the RTLM radio station and the Kangura magazine, which called for the murder of the Tutsi minority, is known as Kabuga.

Between January 1993 and March 1994, Kabuga assisted in financing the mass importation of 500,000 machetes in preparation for genocide.

After 26 years on the run, Kabuga was apprehended by French authorities in Greater Paris in 2020 at the age of 87. He is being held by the IRMCT branch in The Hague while he awaits his crimes against humanity trial.

Which school and college did he go to?

The high school he attended or the college he graduated from is under reviewed.

Felicien Kabuga Net Worth, How much does he earn?

The net worth details for him aren’t available.

Also Read: Muhammad Kabir, Maigari of Lokoja, dies at 80

Felicien Kabuga Wife, What is his relationship?

Kabuga has 11 kids with his wife Josephine Mukazitoni. Two of Juvénal Habyarimana’s sons are married to two of his daughters.

Is he available on any social media platforms?

We did a quick search for the social media reach of him but weren’t able to find him on any social apps.

Physical Appearance of Felicien Kabuga’s Height, Weight

Interesting facts about Felicien Kabuga’s which should be known