Bajinya’s Genocide charges must renew the fight against impunity

The decision by authorities in the United Kingdom to charge Dr Vincent Bajinya, also known as Vincent Brown, over offences linked to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi is a significant development in a case Rwanda has pursued for many years. For genocide survivors in particular, the development will come as a measure of relief. For more than three decades, Rwanda has consistently called for people accused of participating in the Genocide against the Tutsi and living abroad to have their day in court. That is precisely what should now happen. ALSO READ: Rwanda welcomes UK's 'long overdue' Genocide charges against Bajinya The charges against Bajinya are an important step, but they are not the end of the process. The courts must now be allowed to examine the evidence and reach their determination independently. Justice demands both accountability and due process, and Rwanda, survivors and the wider international community will await the ultimate decision of the court. A former head of ONAPO, the national population authority, Bajinya, 74, fled the country after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and settled in Britain. He built a new life and changed his name to Vincent Brown and he had been living scot-free in north London. Still, the fact that the case has finally moved forward matters. For survivors, justice delayed for more than 30 years carries a heavy emotional burden. Many have lived knowing that individuals accused of involvement in the murder of their families and communities were able to build new lives abroad while serious allegations against them remained unresolved. Some survivors and witnesses have since died without seeing these cases reach court. This is why the Bajinya case should also renew attention on other genocide fugitives who have for years found refuge in the United Kingdom. Their cases should not remain indefinitely unresolved. Where there is sufficient evidence, authorities should arrest and prosecute them, or pursue extradition where the law permits. The same responsibility applies to other countries hosting suspects pursued for playing a role in the Genocide against the Tutsi. Time should never become protection against accountability for crimes of such magnitude. The principle of “Never Again” cannot rest on remembrance alone. It must also be demonstrated through sustained efforts to investigate, arrest and prosecute those accused of genocide, wherever they may be. The UK has taken an encouraging step. Survivors can draw hope from it, but cautious hope. The judicial process must now run its course. And beyond Bajinya, the pursuit of the remaining fugitives must continue with the same determination especially by the UK, where four other genocide masterminds who are close friends of his, continue to live freely. Justice may have been delayed for decades, but it must never be abandoned.

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Bajinya’s Genocide charges must renew the fight against impunity