Judges at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals this week ruled that they would not be pursuing the conventional criminal proceedings against one of the most critical masterminds of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, Felicien Kabuga. Instead, the court, which is based in The Hague, will be pursuing an alternative proceeding commonly used in the Common Law system which is dubbed ‘trial of facts’, a procedure that despite its closeness to an ordinary trial, does not provide for a conviction. The implication is that while the crime of genocide is not bound by the statute of limitations, clearly there are some limitations to this. As it is, the man who bankrolled the genocidal machinery and who used his wealth to escape justice for close to 30 years, will now have a symbolic trial because at 90 years of age, there is no indication that he will recover from clinical dementia, with which he was diagnosed. ALSO READ: UN Court decision on Kabuga trial disappointing - activists Kabuga’s condition has been attributed to advanced age and just like that, people, especially survivors of the Genocide against the Tutsi will not see the justice that they have waited for for nearly three decades, which is something that is akin to adding salt to an injury. ALSO READ: Prosecutors pin Kabuga on key role in Genocide as trial begins This situation brings to mind the case of five other genocide masterminds who have freely lived in the United Kingdom where the British judiciary has refused to either extradite them or even domestically tried like other European countries such as France, Belgium, The Netherlands among others have done over the years. With each passing year, these men slip further from the wheels of justice because they are not getting any younger and by the time the United Kingdom make the realization (if ever) to bring them to justice, they may be too old. That said, Rwandans welcome and appreciate all the support they can get to ensure these well-known individuals - Celestin Mutabaruka, Dr Vincent Bajinya, Emmanuel Nteziryayo, Celestin Ugirashebuja and Charles Munyaneza – have their day in court, to answer for the atrocities they committed during the Genocide before it is too late. Recently, All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) which brings together different members of parliament of the United Kingdom, added their voice and called for these fugitives to be brought to book. Such voices are important and should be sustained to ensure at least British citizens, who live in same communities as these suspected mass murderers, get to know the monsters within their midst.
