Rwanda protests Kabuga trial delay at Hague court

KIGALI, Rwanda

Rwanda has protested the delay to the start of trial of suspected genocide financier Felicien Kabuga, who was arrested in France in May 2020 after 25 years on the run and is detained in The Hague since October 2020 pending trial by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT).

The trial is understood to have been delayed after Mr Kabuga’s associates, whose bank accounts were frozen on suspicion they could aid him avoid arrest, filed a motion to the court seeking access to their funds.

In his update to the Security Council on December 13, IRMCT Prosecutor Serge Brammertz said his team filed its pre-trial brief and responded to significant additional litigation initiated by Mr Kabuga’s family members and associated third parties concerning seized assets.

“My office is ready for and looks forward to the commencement of this trial at the Arusha branch when ordered by the Trial Chamber,” he said.

Rwanda, however, submitted that the delay was unjustifiable and took issue with the extended pretrial phases, saying they not only delay justice for the victims and survivors of the genocide but also jeopardise the core judicial mandate of IRMCT.