Former Rwandan Official Appears in UK Court Over 1994 Genocide Allegations

Former Rwandan official Vincent Brown has appeared in a United Kingdom court after being charged over alleged involvement in killings during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Brown, a 65-year-old doctor formerly known as Vincent Bajinya, confirmed his name, date of birth and address during the hearing. He did not enter a plea and has denied any wrongdoing.

He faces one count of conduct ancillary to genocide in Kigali during April 1994. Prosecutors allege that he incited and directed violence and ordered six killings over four days during the first week of the genocide.

Prosecutors outline allegations

Prosecutor Jane Stansfield told the court that Brown was head of the Department of Family Health within Rwanda’s National Office of Population when the genocide began.

The nationwide massacres in 1994 lasted more than 100 days and resulted in the deaths of more than 800,000 people, most of them from Rwanda’s Tutsi ethnic minority, according to the report.

The allegations against Brown have not been established in court. His lawyer, Sam Blom-Cooper, said Brown welcomed the opportunity to clear his name.

“These are appalling crimes, terrible murders that were committed back in 1994. But this, finally, does represent the beginning of the end for Dr Brown,” Blom-Cooper said.

Long-running legal and police process

Brown is originally from Kigali and is believed to have entered the UK as an asylum seeker in 1998. He later lived in London and worked for a charity that assisted refugee nurses and midwives seeking employment in Britain.

He changed his surname from Bajinya after receiving UK citizenship in 2004 and was first arrested in 2006. A British court refused his extradition to Rwanda, along with that of four other men, in 2017.

The Rwandan government had asked the Metropolitan Police to investigate the men over alleged killings in Kigali’s Rugenge district. The current charges followed a UK investigation described as having lasted seven years and begun in September 2019.

The case is being handled by the Metropolitan Police and Counter Terrorism Policing London. Brown is described in the report as the first person to be charged in Britain over the Rwandan genocide.

Case sent to Old Bailey

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring granted Brown bail on condition that his family provide £25,000 in security. He also transferred the case to the Central Criminal Court, commonly known as the Old Bailey.

Brown is due to appear at the Old Bailey on October 9.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said the proceedings would establish an important precedent in addressing allegations made decades ago.

“This case demonstrates the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes,” Flanagan said.