Audio By Carbonatix
Rwandan genocide fugitive Felicien Kabuga is due to appear before a Paris court on Tuesday, three days after French police swooped on his hideout in a Paris suburb, ending a 26-year manhunt.
The 84-year-old is accused of funding militias that massacred around 800,000 people. He was indicted in 1997 on seven criminal counts including genocide, all in relation to the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
At Tuesday’s hearing, which is procedural, the court will set out the legal process before passing the case to investigative judges who will decide whether to hand Kabuga to a U.N. court handling alleged crimes against humanity.
At least one France-based genocide victim support group said it was considering legal action to unearth how Kabuga was able to go underground in France and what help he had received.
“He was our Klaus Barbie, our (Adolf) Eichmann,” said Etienne Nsanzimana, president of support group Ibuka France, referring to two prominent Nazi war criminals.
“How did he stay on the run for 26 years? For how many years was he in France and receiving help to live comfortably. I don’t think it was just his family,” Nsanzimana added.
Reuters has not been able to find any public comment made by Kabuga over the years about the charges. French lawyer Emmanuel Altit, who will be defending Kabuga, did not respond to a request seeking comment from his client.
Rwanda’s two main ethnic groups are the Hutus and Tutsis, who have historically had an antagonistic relationship and fought a civil war in the early 1990s.
Latest Stories
-
Government has improved sanitation in one-and-a-half years — Salaga South MP
3 hours -
Nkwanta North Assembly to appear before Parliament over DACF sanitation spending
3 hours -
Mourinho prints out ‘red card’ incidents after Real lose derby
3 hours -
Atletico beat 10-man Real in feisty Madrid derby
3 hours -
Twelve Tribes of Israel Ghana to mark 40 years with anniversary celebration
4 hours -
GPL 2026/27: Hearts held by Bechem as Kotoko, Samartex share spoils
4 hours -
My Story (Kwaku Antwi-Boasiako)
4 hours -
We expect growth rate to re-accelerate in second-half of 2026 – IC Insights
4 hours -
The ungodliness and unrighteousness underlying the National Cathedral mess!
5 hours -
T-bills auction: Government fails to achieve target; yield on 91-day-bill remains unchanged
5 hours -
It’s Ghana’s shame to denigrate Nkrumah when the whole world honours him as African of the Century – Asiedu Nketiah
5 hours -
No other nationalist can compare to Nkrumah – Asiedu Nketiah
5 hours -
Collateral Registry: Foreign banks accounted for GH¢19.9bn of secured credit in quarter 2, 2026
5 hours -
This government should expect scrutiny – Asiedu Nketiah
5 hours -
Two-year-old girl dies in domestic fire at Cantonments
6 hours