Felicien Kabuga, Rwandan accused of financing genocide, dies

"Félicien Kabuga, a Rwandan business tycoon who spent decades on the run after allegedly financing the country's 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, died May 16 in The Hague. He was believed to be at least 90. The United Nations did not immediately provide a cause of death."

"For a generation, Mr. Kabuga symbolized the wounds that have festered in his tiny East African nation since the end of the massacre that left hundreds of thousands dead. Availing himself of his immense wealth and of the help of family and associates abroad, he remained a fugitive for 26 years, evading international authorities despite a $5 million U.S. government bounty for evidence leading to his capture."

"Mr. Kabuga, Rwanda's most-wanted man, had once been one of its wealthiest entrepreneurs. He allegedly funded and armed extremist ethnic Hutu militias, known as the Interahamwe, with truckloads of machetes and hoes. During 100 days of conflict, they slaughtered more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus."

"Mr. Kabuga, an ethnic Hutu himself, also co-founded and financed the private radio station Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), which incited Hutus "to kill the Tutsi cockroaches" and was later described by survivors as the "voice of genocide." The extremist media played upon decades of hate mongering between ethnic Hutus and Tutsis, pitting neighbor against neighbor through spiteful anti-Tutsi propaganda broadcasts listened to by millions."

Félicien Kabuga, a Rwandan business tycoon accused of financing the 1994 genocide of ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, died May 16 in The Hague at an age believed to be at least 90. The United Nations did not immediately state a cause of death. Kabuga had remained a fugitive for 26 years, using wealth and help from abroad to evade international authorities despite a $5 million U.S. bounty. He was accused of funding and arming extremist Hutu militias, including the Interahamwe, with weapons used during the 100 days of killing. He also co-founded and financed RTLM, a radio station described by survivors as the “voice of genocide,” which broadcast incitement and anti-Tutsi propaganda. He was indicted by the UN tribunal in 1998 and was found in May 2020 in a Paris suburb under a false identity.

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