UK Court Hears Doctor Oversaw Killings in 1994 Rwandan Genocide

In a London court, a British prosecutor accused a doctor on Tuesday of overseeing six killings during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Prosecutor Jane Stansfield stated in Westminster Magistrates’ Court that Dr. Vincent Brown, formerly known as Vincent Bajinya, was a leader or supervisor in the deaths of a young woman and her baby, three household members, and a taxi driver who was stoned to death.

Brown, 65, faces one count of conduct ancillary to genocide and six counts of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity. U.K. law permits British prosecutors to bring charges for international offenses, including genocide and crimes against humanity, regardless of where they occurred. This case is the first in the U.K. for participation in the ethnic genocide that claimed an estimated 800,000 lives.

Prosecutors said Brown denied any role in the killings when interviewed by police in 2020, a year after Metropolitan Police war crimes investigators began their inquiry at the request of the Rwandan government. Defense lawyer Sam Blom-Cooper stated in court that Brown wishes to clear his name. Another defense attorney, Frank Brazell, told The Associated Press that Brown maintains his innocence against what he believes is fabricated evidence and has encouraged U.K. authorities to prosecute him, confident in a fair trial.

Brown did not enter a plea and only confirmed his identity. He was released on £25,000 ($33,400) bail and is scheduled to appear next at London's Central Criminal Court on October 9.

Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo described the prosecution as a long-overdue step toward accountability following a seven-year investigation.

The allegations center on several days in April 1994 when Brown allegedly served as head of the department of family health at the National Office of Population. According to Stansfield, Brown led a group to a house in the Rugenge district of Kigali on April 8, ordering the shootings of Dominique Mukurarinda, Immaculee Mukankusi, and Gerase Rurangirwa. On April 10, prosecutors said he ordered the killings of Charlotte Kamaguja and her infant son Olivier Tuyishime, and directed the group that stoned cabbie Leandre Mbogoye between April 9 and 11.

Originally from Kigali, Brown lives in London, where he previously worked for a charity assisting refugee nurses and midwives seeking to practice in Britain. He is believed to have entered the U.K. as an asylum-seeker in 1998, according to a former Rwandan Justice Minister. Brown changed his name upon being granted U.K. citizenship in 2004, an attorney for him stated at the time.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counterterrorism policing, said that the case demonstrates that the U.K. is not a safe haven for international crime suspects. Police indicated they are continuing to investigate several other Rwandan genocide suspects residing in Britain.