A London-based Rwandan doctor, Vincent Brown, formerly known as Vincent Bajinya, has been charged with seven offences in connection with the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. The 65-year-old faces one count of conduct ancillary to genocide and six counts of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity. These charges were brought after a seven-year investigation by the Metropolitan Police War Crimes Team.
The charges relate to allegations that Dr. Brown took part in the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994. According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), he is alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others. The CPS said the case is the first in the UK involving charges relating to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
The investigation was opened in September 2019 after the Rwandan government formally asked British authorities to look into people suspected of involvement in the killings in Kigali’s Rugenge district in April 1994. The Metropolitan Police described the inquiry as “a complex and extensive seven-year investigation”. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, emphasized that the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes.
The genocide in Rwanda lasted about 100 days, with an estimated 800,000 people, mainly Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus, killed by Hutu extremists. Those targeted included members of the Tutsi minority and political opponents, regardless of their ethnic origin. Forces that took control of Rwanda after the genocide were also alleged to have killed thousands of Hutu people in retaliation.
Brown was first arrested in 2006, but a UK court rejected a request to extradite him to Rwanda in 2017. The case involved four other men whose extraditions were also refused. Brown, who was born in Kigali, has lived in London, where he previously worked for a charity supporting refugee nurses and midwives seeking employment in Britain. He is believed to have entered the UK as an asylum seeker in 1998.
Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said prosecutors had determined that the legal test for bringing charges had been met. The Crown Prosecution Service will present its case against Brown at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 22, 2026. Brown's lawyer, Philip Eldin-Taylor, previously stated that Brown changed his name after becoming a British citizen in 2004.
The Metropolitan Police said inquiries into several other people in Britain suspected of involvement in the Rwandan genocide are continuing. Commander Helen Flanagan stated that 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.
Key points
- The charges against Vincent Brown are the first in the UK relating to the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
- The investigation into Brown's alleged involvement in the genocide was a complex and extensive seven-year process.
- The Rwandan genocide resulted in an estimated 800,000 deaths over a period of about 100 days.
