A Rwandan man living in north London has become the first person charged in the United Kingdom with offences relating to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the Crown Prosecution Service has announced.
Dr Vincent Brown, formerly known as Dr Vincent Bajinya, 65, was arrested and charged on Monday with one count of conduct ancillary to genocide and six offences of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity.
Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the charges relate to allegations that Brown took part in the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994. "He is alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others," Ferguson said.
"This is the first time charges relating to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda have been brought in the United Kingdom," the CPS said in a statement.
Ferguson said the decision to charge Brown was made "after reviewing a file of evidence submitted by the War Crimes Team at the Metropolitan Police," adding: "We concluded that our legal test for bringing criminal charges had been met."
The Metropolitan Police described the charges as the result of "a complex and extensive seven-year investigation." The War Crimes Team began its investigation in September 2019 following a formal request from the Rwandan government to investigate individuals allegedly involved in the genocide in the Rugenge district of Kigali in April 1994.
Brown was first arrested in 2006. His extradition to Rwanda, along with four other men, was refused by a UK court in 2017. Metropolitan Police war crimes investigators then opened a fresh inquiry in 2019 at the request of the Rwandan government.
Originally from Kigali, Brown is believed to have entered the UK as an asylum seeker in 1998. He was granted UK citizenship in 2004 and changed his name at that time, according to his attorney. He had been living in north London, where he once worked for a charity assisting refugee nurses and midwives seeking employment in Britain.
Brown is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said the case sends a clear message about the UK's commitment to international justice. "This case demonstrates the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes," she said.
"The War Crimes Team remains committed to ensuring those suspected of involvement in genocide and other atrocity crimes are held accountable through due legal process," Flanagan added. "A number of other investigations remain ongoing into other individuals in the UK for similar offences related to the genocide in Rwanda."
Police confirmed they are continuing to investigate several other Rwandan genocide suspects living in Britain.
The 1994 Rwandan genocide saw an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus killed over the course of approximately 100 days by Hutu extremists. The killings targeted members of the minority Tutsi community as well as political opponents regardless of ethnic origin.
