Félicien Kabuga, a suspect charged in connection with Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, dies in hospital while held in United Nations custody in The Hague, the UN court says. He is 91, according to reports. The accounts describe Kabuga as accused of encouraging and bankrolling the mass killing of Rwanda’s Tutsi minority during the 100-day genocide that left hundreds of thousands dead.
Several outlets say his case had been ongoing for years and that his trial began in 2022. They also report that in 2023 the judges found him unfit to continue standing trial, citing medical issues consistent with dementia, and they discussed ways to continue the proceedings without his direct participation. Despite that ruling, the court later reports that he dies in custody.
Across the articles, the consistent details are that Kabuga remains detained in The Hague under UN authority, that his death occurs in a hospital, and that the UN court announces the death. The reports do not indicate a cause beyond the circumstances of his hospital confinement.
