The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has announced that Dr Vincent Brown — formerly known as Dr Vincent Bajinya — has been charged with conduct ancillary to genocide and conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity, in connection with the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

 

It is the first time genocide-related charges are being brought before a UK court.

 

Dr Brown was arrested in the UK in 2006 and again in 2013 following extradition requests from Rwanda. His extradition was refused following proceedings concluding in 2009 and 2017. Those proceedings did not determine his guilt or innocence.

 

The charges now issued by the CPS have resulted from a “complex and extensive” investigation initiated by the War Crimes Team of the Metropolitan Police in 2019.

 

“Though it has been a long time coming, this prosecution renews survivors’ hopes for justice,” says Freddy Mutanguha, CEO of the Aegis Trust and Director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda. “We now urge rigorous investigation and prosecution of all remaining genocide suspects in the UK, alongside this case.”

 

Working with Justice and Redress, the Aegis Trust led the campaign to close a legal loophole which prevented UK prosecution of genocide crimes committed before 2001. In 2009, the campaign succeeded and UK law was changed, making a case like this possible.

 

“The charges announced are a direct result of the change in the law for which we campaigned,” says Aegis founder Dr James Smith. “It’s the first time these legal powers have been used, which is welcome – and it must not be the last.   The message should be clear to genocide suspects everywhere that the UK is no longer a safe haven.”