Crime21 September, 20263 min read
United Kingdom Charges Vincent Brown With Genocide Complicity Over 1994 Tutsi Killings in Kigali
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Vincent Brown, 65, charged in the UK with genocide complicity and six crimes against humanity. First UK charges over the Rwanda genocide after seven-year investigation.
Brown charged in UK
The United Kingdom charged Vincent Brown, a 65-year-old man formerly known as Vincent Bajinya, for his alleged role in the 1994 genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda after a seven-year investigation by British authorities. The Crown Prosecution Service alleged that Brown led and urged acts of murder and genocide targeting the Tutsi population, and prosecutors charged him with genocide complicity and six counts related to crimes against humanity. The case placed Brown, who is a native of Kigali and living in London, due to appear Tuesday before the Westminster Crown Court, and the court remanded him in custody.
Prosecutors also accused Brown of directing and inciting acts of murder and genocide carried out by others against the Tutsi, and the allegations spanned April 1994 in the Rugenge neighborhood of Kigali. The BBC said Brown was charged with conduct ancillary to genocide and six offences of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity, and the case was passed to the Old Bailey for a hearing on 9 October.
Court details and denials
Jane Stansfield accused Brown in Westminster Magistrates’ Court of overseeing six killings during the 1994 genocide, and she said he was a leader or supervisor in the killing of a young woman and her baby, three household members and a taxi driver who was stoned to death. Brown denied playing any role in the killings when interviewed by police in 2020, and prosecutors said the Metropolitan Police war crimes investigators began looking into the case at the request of the Rwandan government. Sam Blom-Cooper told the court that Brown denied the allegations and wanted to clear the "stains of these appalling allegations," and another defense attorney, Frank Brazell, said Brown had always maintained his innocence.
Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said the prosecution marked a long-overdue step toward accountability following the seven-year investigation, and Commander Helen Flanagan said the case shows that the U.K. isn't a safe haven for international crime suspects. The BBC reported that Brown confirmed his name and address from the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, and it said a bail application would be considered later on Tuesday.
What the case signals
The Crown Prosecution Service said it was the first time charges relating to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda had been brought in the United Kingdom, and it said Brown would appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's special crime and counter terrorism division, said, "This is the first time charges relating to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda have been brought in the United Kingdom," and he described the allegations as directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others. Commander Helen Flanagan said the case demonstrated the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes, and she added that a number of other investigations remain ongoing in the UK into similar offences committed during the Rwanda genocide.
The allegations tied Brown to killings in the Rugenge district of Kigali between 6 April and 13 April in 1994, and the BBC listed alleged victims including Dominique Mukurarinda, Immaculee Mukankusi, Gerasi Rurangirwa, Leandre Mbogoye, Charlotte Kamaguja and Olivier Tuyishime. The BBC said inquiries continue into other alleged genocide offences in Rwanda, and it described the charges as genocide under the 2001 International Criminal Court Act with prosecutors alleging a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population with knowledge of the attack.