Kabuga opts for delay tactics hoping to consign truth to the grave

Since May 16, 2020, Félicien Kabuga has been in the hands of the international justice system charged with direct and superior responsibility for genocide, complicity in genocide, attempt to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity for acts of extermination and persecution.

He was the co-founder and president of the infamous RTLM genocide radio and financier of the "National Defense Fund" which ensured the genocide logistics for the Interahamwe militia that perpetrated the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. More than a million people were killed in the space of 100 days.

Dismayingly, delay in the litigation processes of key genocide masterminds has become a familiar phenomenon. The case of Kabuga is no exception. Since Kabuga's arrest in France, in late May 2020, and his extradition to the UN criminal tribunal at The Hague, he has said very little during his court appearances. He continues to "plead not guilty". At the same time, his family, after helping him evade justice for more than 26 years, is begging for his release on grounds of age and ill health. The family also claims that he is innocent and a “victim of conspiracy" for “geopolitical interests”, while also deploying textbook delaying tactics which, unfortunately, the UN justice system rewards on the pretext of fair trial.

Initially, the excuses and arguments against his extradition to stand trial in Arusha, Tanzania, where the UN court has a branch, pretexted his fragile health or a health problem in the context of Covid-19 pandemic. However, at the current pre-trial stage, further challenges are made by Kabuga and his family to delay and adjourn hearings – the latest being his denunciation of his lawyer whom he alleged has not been communicating properly with him and his family about the case.

It is uncertain whether the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) will be able to complete the trial, considering Kabuga’s advanced age and the voluminous case documents including pleadings, applications, depositions and miscellaneous references.

When the trial finally begins, it is expected that the Kabuga family will instruct his lawyers to use all possible tricks to delay the case, by accumulating adjournments due to health issues and other legal technicalities. This will be done in order to maximize the time that the trial will consume until genocide survivors become despaired and give up on expecting justice.

Similarly, the Kabuga family are expected to challenge the credibility of each witness presented by the prosecution on the grounds of intimidation or corruption by the Rwandan government, as well as the validity of documents on grounds of forgery or inaccurate translation. It is even expected that they will constantly require to assign experts to regularly examine his physical and mental health to stand trial.

Replacing defense counsels frequently as well as absence of Kabuga’s lawyers at hearings, on short notice, will be another tactic devised and used to slow the litigation process.

The stalling will even be more nerve-wracking in case the trial is held in a hybrid format: judges and the prosecution physically present at Arusha, Kabuga and the defense team attending the trial by videoconference from The Hague, while other participants attend remotely. Besides potential technical glitches, the Kabuga family and their lawyers will seek to misuse every malfunction of the software, videoconference features as well as internet connections and the quality of translation to render the case untriable.

These predictable tactics will compel the UN court to repeatedly defer the case for more time to examine those frivolous challenges. Ultimately, the trial of Kabuga will demonstrate that there is little or no change at the UN, and will substantiate the frustration of genocide survivors disillusioned by the kind of justice that was delivered by the defunct ICTR which, in the 21 years of its existence, with a budget of billions of US dollars and thousands of investigators, charged 96 genocidaires, tried 85 and convicted only 61.

It is traditionally stated that “slow justice is a proven injustice.” This phrase has echoed in the hearts of Rwandans over the past 27 years as they witnessed the cynicism of the trials of genocide masterminds at the ICTR, as well as the early release of genocide convicts by its successor, the IRMCT, without any regard for the memory of victims of the genocide.

Taking a deeper look into the strategy adopted by Kabuga’s family, it is clear that only lawyers who will pursue the game of extending the adjournments of the case “ad infinitum” will be retained.

It is also very clear, and understandable, that as they don’t believe in Kabuga’s innocence, they would rather delay the case so that he ultimately meets his death before justice.

If the UN justice system was not biased to cocoon mass murderers whose right to fair trial seems to be prioritized over justice for victims, people would not be permitted to gaslight the public into commiserating with a génocidaire.

Instead, with the procrastination door closed before the Kabuga defense team, the UN justice system would finally start to persuade humanity not to forfeit any hope in international justice.