Kabuga case a bad precedent in trying genocidaires

Author: Samson Kasujja

• 2023-08-19 05:30:00

Genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga’s case is going to set a bad precedent in trying genocidaires.

Kabuga, a businessman before and during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, provided substantial support to the genocide machine in terms of finance, logistics and moral support.

Nicknamed the ‘genocide financier’, he had been on the run for nearly three decades, when he was arrested in France in May 2020.

Survivors of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi were shocked that the main genocide financer will not be held responsible for the crimes of genocide.

The Appeals Chamber of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals ruled, in early August, that Kabuga is “unfit to stand trial” due to what is considered to be his deteriorating health. He is, therefore, set to be released from detention.

Related: Rwanda: Genocide suspect Kabuga to be released; what if he had been a Nazi?

Legal experts noted that as old age is one of the reasons that are said to have contributed to Kabuga’s memory loss, such arguments may come up again in the cases of elderly genocide suspects who will be tried in the future.

Survivors of the Genocide were very disappointed in the jury's verdict, and they fear the same incidents will happen in the future. Three decades later survivors are still waiting for justice to be delivered.

There are still more than 1,000 Rwandan genocide fugitives on the run.

 Worse still, a large number of them are elderly. It is safe to say that when they get arrested, some of them, if not all, will not be held accountable unless they are deported to Rwanda.

Related: Kabuga case confirmed Mitterand’s statement; genocide not important in Africa

The same international community that turned its back on the Tutsi in 1994 and declined to rescue them from the hands of mass murderers, is shielding genocidaires from facing justice.

It is not only seen in the Kabuga case.

Many genocide fugitives were arrested in Western countries and released later, citing ‘political or activism’ reasons.

How can genocide, a crime against humanity, be likened or compared to activism and politics?

 It is so shameful to politicize the worst crime ever.