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Félicien Kabuga, a prominent suspect in the 1994 Rwandan genocide accused of funding the notorious radio station that incited mass slaughter, died in a hospital on Saturday.
The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague, where Kabuga had been facing trial, confirmed his passing in an official statement.
Following the announcement, presiding judge Graciela Gatti Santana launched a comprehensive inquiry to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the death of the suspect, who was in his 90s.
Once ranked among the world’s most-wanted fugitives, the former businessman was widely accused of bankrolling the horrific massacres that resulted in the deaths of roughly 800,000 people over three months in 1994.
After evading capture for decades, Kabuga was apprehended in France in 2020 and subsequently transferred to the international court at The Hague to face trial.
His indictment included severe charges of genocide, conspiracy and incitement to commit genocide and crimes against humanity, including murder and extermination.
As one of Rwanda’s wealthiest individuals at the time of the atrocities, prosecutors alleged that Kabuga was the primary architect behind Radio-Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM).
The broadcaster became infamous for broadcasting hate speech that actively urged the ethnic Hutu majority to slaughter Tutsi citizens.
Though Kabuga maintained a plea of not guilty throughout his custody, judges ultimately halted his trial in 2023 after determining that his deteriorating health left him unfit to meaningfully participate in the legal proceedings.
At the time of his death, the wheelchair-bound detainee was awaiting provisional release to a nation willing to accept him.
