Felicien Kabuga, one of the last remaining suspects linked to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, has died in custody at the age of 93, a United Nations court confirmed on Saturday.
Kabuga was arrested in France in 2020 after more than two decades on the run and later transferred to The Hague. Proceedings against him were halted after he was declared unfit to stand trial due to dementia and severe ill health.
With no country willing to accept him, he remained in detention under the supervision of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals, which has now ordered an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death.
A former businessman and media figure, Kabuga was accused by prosecutors of playing a central role in the genocide, including financing and supporting ethnic Hutu militias. He was also linked to the notorious broadcaster Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines, accused of spreading hate speech and inciting violence.
The 1994 genocide saw more than 800,000 people, mainly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, killed in a period of about 100 days.
Kabuga’s death marks the end of one of the longest-running manhunts tied to the genocide, leaving fewer high-profile suspects yet to face justice.
