The British Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) brought charges against a Rwandan official on Tuesday in connection with crimes against the Tutsi during the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Dr. Vincent Brown, formerly known as Dr. Vincent Bajinya, was head of the family health department in Rwanda’s National Population Office at the beginning of the genocide. According to the CPS, in April 1994 Brown supervised, directed and instigated “acts of murder and genocide committed by others.” The case was heard before the Westminster Magistrates Court in which prosecutors cited six killings that Brown allegedly ordered “during four days of violence in Kigali.”
In a press release, the CPS announced that Brown had been charged with “one behavioral offense relating to genocide and six behavioral offenses relating to murder as a crime against humanity.” Section 52 of the International Criminal Tribunal Act 2001.”
The Law on the International Criminal Court establishes the rules for the prosecution of an act committed outside the jurisdiction and states:
(1) It is an offense against the laws of England and Wales for any person to engage in conduct in the course of an act to which this section applies.
(2) This section applies to an act which, if committed in England or Wales, would constitute:
(a) an offense under Section 51 (genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes) or
(b) an offense under this section,
which, however, because it was committed (or is intended to be committed) outside England and Wales, does not constitute such an offense.
Since then, Dr. Brown has lived in Islington, north London, for more than 20 years. The CPS decided to press charges after considering the evidence he provided British Metropolitan Police War Crimes Teamafter a seven-year investigation. In a statement, Commander Helen Flanagan, head of counter-terrorism policing in London, said:
Securing the UK’s first-ever genocide prosecution took enormous work and determination from war crimes team officers. This case shows that the UK is not a safe haven for people suspected of committing international crimes.
Commander Flanagan also stated that there are a number of ongoing investigations “against other individuals in the UK for similar offenses relating to the Rwandan genocide”.
The Genocide in Rwanda took place over time April to July 1994in which Hutu extremists planned to kill the Tutsi population and anyone who opposed the genocide, including moderate Hutus. More than 800,000 civilians were killed and 2,000,000 Rwandans fled and were displaced.
This is the first time that charges have been brought in the UK in relation to the Rwandan genocide. However, other countries have brought charges of genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. In July 2023, the Paris Assize Court in France sentenced Philippe Hategekimana to life imprisonment for his role in the Nyabubare Hill and Nyamure Hill massacres that left thousands of Tutsi refugees dead in 1994. In August 2026, the Netherlands sentenced a Dutchman to life imprisonment for war crimes and genocide.
CPS Special Crimes and Counter Terrorism Division Chief Frank Ferguson stressed the importance of Dr. Brown’s right to a fair trial as criminal proceedings are now underway against him and warned against anything that could affect his rights.
Dr. Brown disputed his involvement in the genocide and told the court that he “left Kigali in mid-April 1998.” He is scheduled to appear at the Old Bailey on October 9, 2026.
