Nightmare for genocidaires

Notoriously known as the “financier of the genocide,” Félicien Kabuga’s crimes are gradually coming to light during his trial at the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) in The Hague, Netherlands.

 

The court is hearing testimonies from different witnesses, regarding the role the 89-year-old played in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The trial kicked off on September 29.

 

Once one of Rwanda's richest men, Kabuga, used his power and influence in the most treacherous ways. He, among other things, helped set up the radio station Radio Television Libre des Milles Collines (RTLM), used to fuel the genocide. The radio mainly broadcast content that encouraged people to kill the Tutsi. He also funded militia groups that went on a killing spree during the genocide against the Tutsi.

 

Before the UN court, Kabuga was charged with genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and persecution on political grounds, extermination, and murder as crimes against humanity.

 

To no one’s surprise he pleaded “not guilty” to all charges. And for his defense; he was simply a businessman caught up in the unpredictable violence of a grassroots conflict.

 

But Kabuga’s scheme is slowly falling apart, with numerous witnesses pinning him on his big role in the atrocities; where he provided weapons, financial and moral support to the killers.

 

Kabuga’s trial is a nightmare for all genocidaires still at large and engrossed in genocide denial and trivialization.

 

Among others, French veteran journalist Jean-Francois Dupaquier, appeared before the UN-backed court, on October 19, to testify about the role RTLM played in fuelling hate and promoting extremism in the lead to and during the Genocide in 1994.

 

He noted that Kabuga was a member of the Akazu – the inner circle – of genocide architects and, being the wealthiest man in Rwanda at the time, with state connections, welded a lot of power and influence.

 

Dupaquier noted that Kabuga was the majority shareholder of the radio station that would become the main body of propaganda.

 

He talked about how Kabuga would directly order or decide what programmes journalists were supposed to air and what not to air. Kabuga served as president of RTLM. He had de facto and de jure control of programming, operations, and finances of the radio station.

 

“He (Kabuga) did not only have a financial influence but also on the editorial line of the radio,” said Dupaquier.

 

According to a witness that appeared before court on October 13, with Kabuga’s authorization – before and throughout the Genocide – political parties like Juvenal Habyarimana’s MRND and the extremist CDR held meetings in his building in the Muhima area  Kigali.

 

After these meetings, the Interahamwe were charged and aggressive and would target Tutsi families and nearby shops with violence. They would repeatedly rape and sexually assault Tutsi women, the witness included.

 

As the chairman, Kabuga, used his infamous radio station to fuel the genocide, although, according to him, the media house was an investment like any other. But an anonymous witness who worked at the Rwandan Ministry of Information at the time proved otherwise, before the UN court.

 

Testifying at the trial on October 5, the witness narrated how Kabuga shaped the editorial line of the Genocidal propaganda radio, by repeatedly broadcasting alarming messages, saying the Hutu should be vigilant because the Tutsi had infiltrated the country. That’s how Kabuga and Co. mobilized many people to kill.

 

The witness further testified that the Ministry issued warnings to the board of RTLM which was chaired by Kabuga but it was ignored. The board claimed that the radio was “serving interests of all Rwandans.”

 

On top of mobilizing the killings, RTLM would announce the Tutsi they thought were still hiding and their specific areas of residence, which would direct Interahamwe to where they were and kill them. This was disclosed by Monique Mujawamariya, a human rights activist, on October 18, before the judges at the UN court.

 

Close to three decades on the run, Kabuga was arrested in Paris in May 2020. Ever since his arrest, Kabuga has applied several tactics to deter justice, but they all did not work.

 

Kabuga cannot outrun justice for long, as his crimes are slowly coming to light, with prosecution expected to present more than 50 witnesses before the UN court, three times a week.

 

For Kabuga, justice might delay but it will be served.