Rwandan doctor faces first UK genocide charges over 1994 killings

Prosecutors say Vincent Brown directed and encouraged killings during the first week of Rwanda’s genocide. He denies involvement and says he had left Kigali within days.MANCHESTER, England (CN) — A former Rwandan government official appeared in a London court Tuesday as the first person charged in the U.K. over the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, accused of encouraging killings and ordering six murders.Vincent Brown, formerly known as Vincent Bajinya, 65, faces one charge of conduct ancillary to genocide and six charges of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity under Britain’s International Criminal Court Act 2001.The charges stem from events in the capital of Kigali between April 6-13, 1994, the opening of a 100-day campaign in which more than 800,000 people, mostly Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus, were killed.Brown appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, a lower criminal court in England that handles initial hearings in criminal cases, and confirmed his name and address from the dock.Prosecutor Jane Stansfield said Brown was head of the Department of Family Health within Rwanda’s National Office of Population when the genocide began.She told the court witnesses, including neighbors, described Brown as a leader and supervisor of violence carried out by others.Brown denies involvement in the genocide and says he left Kigali in mid-April 1994. His family left Rwanda in July, according to his defense.His lawyer, Sam Blom-Cooper, said Brown welcomed the charges because they would give him an opportunity to clear his name.“These are appalling crimes, terrible murders that were committed back in 1994,” Blom-Cooper told the court. “But this, finally, does represent the beginning of the end for Dr. Brown.”Judge Paul Goldspring granted Brown bail, subject to him providing sufficient security.Brown is due to appear next at London’s Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, on Oct. 9.Six killings cited in chargesThe prosecution says Brown ordered six killings during four days of violence in Kigali.These include three people from the same household, a taxi driver and a mother and her young son.Prosecutors named the victims as Dominique Mukurarinda, Immaculee Mukankusi, Gerase Rurangirwa, Charlotte Kamaguja, her infant son, Olivier Tuyishime, and taxi driver Leandre Mbogoye.The Crown Prosecution Service said Monday the charges followed a seven-year investigation by the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Team after a request from the Rwandan government in 2019.The British prosecution service said the case was the first time charges connected to the genocide against the Tutsi had been brought in the U.K.Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said Brown is “alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others.”He said after reviewing evidence gathered by police, “we concluded that our legal test for bringing criminal charges had been met,” and cautioned Brown had a right to a fair trial.Six others under investigationThe genocide began after a plane carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana was shot down on April 6, 1994.Hutu extremists then carried out mass killings across the country targeting Tutsis and political opponents.More than 800,000 people were killed during the 100-day genocide.Brown lived in Britain for more than two decades before the charges. He previously worked for Praxis, a London charity that assists refugees, and served on the Refugee Nurses Task Force, which advised the British government.Britain’s War Crimes Team said Tuesday six other people remain under investigation over suspected crimes connected to the genocide, including two men arrested on suspicion of genocide and crimes against humanity.The case is being prosecuted in Britain under legislation allowing British courts to prosecute certain international crimes committed overseas.Britain follows other countriesThe British case is the latest in a long-running effort by national courts outside Rwanda to prosecute people suspected of taking part in the genocide.Other European countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway and Switzerland have prosecuted people accused of crimes connected to the killings in Rwanda. Courts in EU countries have opened more than 100 such cases.Canada has also prosecuted one person under its Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, sentencing Désiré Munyaneza to life in prison in 2009.Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads