Following an investigation by the Counter Terrorism Policing War Crimes Team, a 65-year-old man has become the first person in the UK to be charged with offences related to the Rwandan genocide.
Dr Vincent Brown (aka Bajinya) was arrested and charged on Monday 21 September in relation to crimes allegedly committed in Rwanda in the 1990s.
The investigation began in September 2019 after a formal request from the Government of Rwanda to investigate those allegedly involved in a genocide in the Rugenge district of Kigali in April 1994.
The seven-year investigation involved numerous deployments and international cooperation.
Dr Brown has been charged with one count of conduct ancillary to genocide in April 1994, in Kigali, Rwanda, engaged in conduct ancillary to acts of genocide, with the intent to destroy in whole or in part the Tutsi ethical or racial group, namely encouraging others to kill members of that group as such, and that conduct took place in the context of a manifest pattern of similar conduct directed against that group and six counts of ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity in Kigali, in April 1994, engaged in conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity. All charges are contrary to section 52 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “To secure the first-ever UK charges related to a genocide has involved a huge amount of work and determination from officers in the War Crimes Team.
“This case demonstrates the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes.
“The War Crimes Teams remains committed to ensuring those suspected of involvement in genocide and other atrocity crimes are held accountable through due legal process.
“A number of other investigations remain ongoing into other individuals in the UK for similar offences related to the genocide in Rwanda.
“Our thoughts remain with the people of Rwanda, particularly those who lost family members and loved ones during the genocide against the Tutsi.”
