The UK has brought its first-ever charges linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. Vincent Bajinya, 65, appeared in a London court. Survivors welcome the move and call for action against other fugitives.
The United Kingdom took a historic step on Tuesday, 22 September 2026. For the first time, a man is being prosecuted in a British court for crimes linked to the genocide committed against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994.Dr Vincent Brown, formerly known as Vincent Bajinya, 65, appeared on Tuesday morning at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London. He faces one charge of conduct ancillary to genocide and six charges of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity.According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Bajinya, then head of the Department of Family Health at Rwanda’s National Office of Population (ONAPO) in Kigali, allegedly directed and incited killings in the Rugenge district between 6 and 13 April 1994, in the first days of the genocide. The charges include six specific murders, among them that of a young mother and her infant son.The investigation, carried out over seven years by the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Team, began in 2019 following a request from the Rwandan government. Bajinya, originally from Kigali, left Rwanda after 1994, was granted asylum in the United Kingdom in 1998 and British citizenship in 2004. He then changed his name.Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said the charges are based on a file of evidence submitted by police. “He is alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others,” he stated.The case has been sent to the Old Bailey. A hearing is scheduled for 9 October. The judge granted conditional bail.Survivor associations in Rwanda and the diaspora have welcomed the decision. They see it as an important signal that the United Kingdom is no longer a safe haven for people suspected of involvement in the genocide. They are now calling on British authorities to speed up investigations into other suspects still living in the country, several of whom are already under inquiry.British police confirmed that six other individuals remain under investigation, including two who were arrested in recent years.For communities across the Great Lakes region, the case is a reminder that international justice, even delayed, remains an essential tool. More than thirty-two years after the massacres that killed an estimated 800,000 people in 100 days, many alleged perpetrators have still not faced a court. The opening of this case in London renews hope that other fugitives, wherever they may be, will one day have to answer for their actions.