UK brings first charges over 1994 Rwanda genocide
Dr Vincent Brown, 65, formerly Dr Vincent Bajinya, has been charged with conduct ancillary to genocide and crimes against humanity — the first UK prosecution linked to the 1994 killings.
British prosecutors have brought the first charges in the UK relating to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, the Crown Prosecution Service announced on Monday.
Dr Vincent Brown, 65, formerly known as Dr Vincent Bajinya, was charged with one offence of conduct ancillary to genocide and six offences of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity, under section 52 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001. He is alleged to have “directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others”, encouraging others to kill Tutsis in Kigali in April 1994.
Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “The charges relate to allegations that Dr 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.” The CPS said the decision followed a review of evidence submitted by the Metropolitan Police’s War Crimes Team, and that the legal test for bringing charges had been met.
The investigation began in 2019 following a request from the Rwandan government and involved years of international cooperation, Counter Terrorism Policing said. Brown has been remanded in custody and will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday. Police said investigations into six other individuals remain ongoing, including two men arrested in 2024 and 2026 who remain on bail.
More than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in 100 days in the 1994 genocide.
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