For the first time in United Kingdom legal history, a Rwandan man who has resided in north London for years has been formally charged with crimes connected to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has confirmed.
The accused, 65-year-old Dr. Vincent Brown, who previously went by the name Dr. Vincent Bajinya, faces seven criminal counts in total: one charge of aiding genocide, and six additional charges of assisting murder, which prosecutors classify as a crime against humanity.
According to Frank Ferguson, who leads the CPS’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, Brown is accused of organizing and encouraging other actors to carry out acts of murder and genocide during the 1994 violence. The defendant is scheduled to make his first court appearance at Westminster Magistrates’ Court this coming Tuesday.
Ferguson explained that the decision to pursue charges came after a thorough review of evidence compiled by the Metropolitan Police’s specialized War Crimes Team. “We concluded that our legal test for bringing criminal charges had been met,” he stated in an official press statement.
The investigation traces its origins back to September 2019, when the Rwandan government formally submitted a request to UK authorities to investigate individuals suspected of participating in atrocities in Rwanda’s Rugenge district of Kigali that took place in April 1994.
In a statement released by the Metropolitan Police, the current charges cap off what the department describes as “a complex and extensive seven-year investigation”. Commander Helen Flanagan, who leads Counter Terrorism Policing London, emphasized that this case sends a clear message that the United Kingdom will not serve as a safe refuge for people suspected of perpetrating severe international crimes.
“The War Crimes Team remains committed to ensuring those suspected of involvement in genocide and other atrocity crimes are held accountable through due legal process,” Flanagan said. She also added that multiple other active investigations are still ongoing targeting other individuals currently located in the UK who are suspected of involvement in similar crimes connected to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.