Rwandan Genocide suspect Félicien Kabuga dies in Netherlands

Sunday 17 May 2026 - 12:45

Félicien Kabuga, a businessman accused of financing the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, has died in a hospital in The Hague, according to the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT).

The institution confirmed that Dutch authorities were immediately informed and that standard legal procedures were initiated to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death in Netherlands.

Kabuga had been one of the most high-profile fugitives linked to the Rwandan genocide, during which an estimated one million Tutsi and moderate Hutus were killed over a period of 100 days in 1994. He was accused of financing extremist activities and supporting hate propaganda during the conflict.

After years of evasion, he was arrested in France in 2020 and later transferred to The Hague, where his trial began in 2022 under the UN-backed tribunal mechanism. However, proceedings were later suspended after he was declared medically unfit to stand trial.

At the time of his death, Kabuga was still in detention awaiting a possible decision on provisional release. The court has ordered a full investigation into the circumstances of his passing.

His case has been widely seen as one of the last major legal proceedings connected to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which was created to prosecute crimes committed during the genocide.