Those elected were Dapo Akande of Britain, Francois Alabrune of France, Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud of Jordan, Rena Lee of Singapore, and Phoebe Okowa of Kenya.
Among the five elected, incumbents Hmoud and Okowa were re-elected, and all will serve a nine-year term of office beginning on Feb. 6, 2027.
Hmoud and Okowa were elected to fill vacant positions in May and November 2025, respectively, for a term ending on Feb. 5, 2027. Hmoud filled the seat vacated by Judge Nawaf Salam, who left the ICJ to become the Lebanese prime minister. Okowa was elected to fill the seat held by Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf of Somalia, who resigned.
Under the Statute of the ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the election of its judges is conducted by secret ballot at the Security Council and the General Assembly. A candidate has to obtain an absolute majority in both chambers to get elected. Voting in the two chambers must be held concurrently but separately.
This year, both the General Assembly and the Security Council had to run three rounds to obtain a conclusive result.
The Hague-based ICJ has 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office. To ensure a degree of continuity, five judges are elected every three years. Judges are eligible for re-election. Should a judge die or resign during his or her term of office, a special election is held to choose a judge to fill the unexpired part of the term.
The 15 judges must come from 15 different countries.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) settles legal disputes between States and provides advisory opinions on international legal matters.
Dubbed Operation Ghostbusters, the investigation has resulted in charges against five defendants and the seizure of more than $750,000 in cryptocurrency linked to the wider scheme, which US authorities say involves networks associated with Kenyan nationals.
According to the US Department of Justice, perpetrators allegedly used stolen personal information belonging to American citizens to create fraudulent applications for federal student aid, enrol fictitious students in colleges and redirect the resulting payments to accounts controlled by people involved in the scheme.
The alleged fraudsters also used artificial intelligence (AI) to make the fictitious students appear legitimate, including by completing coursework and creating the impression that they were attending classes.
“If you steal American identities, if you steal taxpayer dollars, if you exploit programs meant to help students build a future, we will find you,” Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald said when announcing the first charges on October 29, 2026. “Whether you are in Nebraska, New Jersey, Virginia, or Nairobi, we will pursue you.”
How the ‘ghost student’ scheme worked
The alleged scheme exploited the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), through which Americans apply for financial assistance to pursue higher education.
Investigators say perpetrators used stolen identities to submit fraudulent applications and enrol fictitious students in colleges and universities. The purported students, known as “ghost students”, never attended the classes for which the financial aid was awarded.
According to the Justice Department, the fraudsters used what it described as “super intelligence” to complete coursework and maintain the appearance of genuine enrolment. The techniques allegedly included placing fake students in virtual classrooms to keep aid payments flowing.
“The goal is to keep the ghost student in school as long as possible. Semester after semester after semester stealing money from the taxpayers,” McDonald said.
Once the funds were disbursed, the money was allegedly diverted through bank accounts controlled by the perpetrators and their associates, with some proceeds transferred overseas, including to Kenya.
The investigation dates back to at least 2021, when American colleges and universities began identifying fraudulent applications that resulted in student aid refunds being paid into accounts belonging to people other than the purported students.
The alleged scheme also exposed innocent Americans to financial harm, including the risk of unexpected student loan obligations and damage to their credit records after their identities were used without their knowledge.
Kenyan nationals among those charged
The investigation has produced cases in three US federal districts involving Kenyan nationals and alleged links to associates in Kenya.
In Nebraska, a federal grand jury indicted Francis Mogambi, a Kenyan citizen, on October 19, 2026, on five counts of theft of government money and five counts of aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors allege that between November 2025 and May 2026, Mogambi worked with associates in Kenya to steal American identities, fraudulently enrol fictitious students and redirect federal student aid payments. He allegedly kept 30% of the proceeds and sent the remainder to his co-conspirators.
Court documents state that Mogambi received $2,000 a week and attempted to recruit another person into the scheme. The intended loss in his case was $20,000.
Mogambi, who arrived in the United States in May 2024 after winning the Diversity Visa lottery, was arrested following the indictment and is being held in custody pending trial.
In a separate Virginia case, prosecutors charged a Kenyan national with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and student aid fraud. The defendant allegedly received more than 700 fraudulent student aid refunds totalling approximately $1.44 million, then transferred at least $1.3 million through thousands of transactions to accounts in the United States and Kenya.
In New Jersey, three defendants have been charged with allegedly acting as money mules in a scheme involving more than $1 million in federal student aid. Prosecutors say they received the funds through US bank accounts before transferring money, after taking their share, to alleged co-conspirators in Kenya associated with a purported safari company.
The Justice Department said it would seek to charge two alleged co-conspirators based in Kenya as the New Jersey investigation continues.
US seizes $750,000 in cryptocurrency
The investigation has also prompted cooperation between American and Kenyan law enforcement agencies.
In September 2026, US officials travelled to Kenya to discuss extradition, prosecution and the recovery of funds allegedly stolen from American taxpayers.
With assistance from Kenyan law enforcement, investigators seized more than $750,000 from a cryptocurrency account belonging to a Kenyan national connected to the wider scheme. The Justice Department described it as the first international seizure of its kind in the history of its National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The seizure was not connected to Mogambi’s individual case.
Investigators identified 830,840 potentially fraudulent Federal Student Aid identification numbers associated with nearly $130 million in September and October 2026, recommending that the Department of Education disable them. The figure represents aid associated with potentially fraudulent accounts, not confirmed losses.
The FBI has separately identified more than $32 million in losses from similar ghost-student schemes, with additional losses suspected. The Justice Department estimates that the wider fraud could exceed $200 million.
First Assistant US Attorney Theophani K. Stamos said investigators had uncovered hundreds of participants and referred cases to FBI field offices across the country.
“Student aid belongs to real students, the data always leaves a trail, and we will follow it wherever it leads,” she said.
The Justice Department reported more than 40 open investigations across 26 FBI field offices and over 20 US attorneys’ offices. Authorities say they are continuing to work with Kenyan counterparts to trace funds, recover assets and pursue alleged accomplices.
All charges remain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
US Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald has vowed to pursue those involved in an alleged student aid fraud scheme linking the United States and Kenya, as investigations continue across multiple states and international borders.
The High Court in Mombasa delivered the verdict on October 19, finding that Mackenzie and his co-accused were responsible for deaths linked to an organised fasting regime at Shakahola Forest in Kilifi County.
Justice Diana Kavedza said the prosecution had proved the murder charges against all 29 defendants beyond reasonable doubt, rejecting the defence argument that the victims had voluntarily fasted to death.
“I reject the defence of the accused persons that the victims who were all below the age of 16s voluntarily fasted to death,” the judge said.
The accused were convicted on 191 counts of murder involving 190 children and one adult. They are due to be sentenced on November 6, with a mitigation hearing scheduled for October 30.
Mackenzie, who led the Good News International Church, was accused of directing followers to starve themselves and their children in the belief that they would enter heaven before the end of the world.
The court found that religious teachings and an established hierarchy were used to enforce fasting, with children targeted first and followers prevented from escaping or accessing food.
The case emerged in 2023 after police investigated reports of missing people in Shakahola Forest. Authorities subsequently uncovered more than 400 bodies in shallow graves across the area.
Although the latest convictions concern 191 murder counts, the wider Shakahola investigation involves hundreds of deaths. Mackenzie and some co-accused also face separate proceedings connected to other alleged offences.
Kenya’s Director of Public Prosecutions, Renson Ingonga, welcomed the verdict, praising the prosecution team for securing the convictions.
“The best judgment we would ever get,” Ingonga said, describing the outcome as a significant moment for the prosecution.
The ruling has brought some relief to families who lost relatives in the tragedy. Francis Wanje, who lost eight family members, including two grandchildren, told Reuters that the verdict gave him confidence in the judiciary.
The Shakahola case has intensified calls for closer oversight of religious organisations in Kenya, where the tragedy raised questions about how Mackenzie’s activities continued despite earlier encounters with authorities.
Mackenzie denied forcing his followers to starve. His lawyer, Lawrence Obonyo, said that the defence planned to appeal the convictions.
The November 6 sentencing will determine the punishment for Mackenzie and his 28 co-accused, while other proceedings connected to the wider tragedy continue.
Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Mackenzie looks on during his court appearance at the Mombasa Law Court in Mombasa, Kenya, on Monday, October 19.
“He (Maduro) authorized the use of torture against specific individuals and oversaw a system designed to use torture, arbitrary detention and violence as a means of repression against the political opposition,” the indictment said.
Maduro had previously been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons-related offenses, to which he pleaded not guilty.
A U.S. judge ruled in July that Maduro and Flores will go on trial on June 1, 2027.
Maduro’s lawyers have sought to have the case dismissed, arguing that he was the incumbent president of Venezuela at the time of his capture and was therefore entitled to immunity from foreign criminal jurisdiction.
On Jan. 3, U.S. forces launched a military operation in Venezuela and forcibly seized Maduro and his wife before transporting them to New York. The couple has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since their capture in Caracas.
enezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were charged by U.S. authorities on Thursday with conspiracy to commit torture.
On September 21, the prosecution said witness Gaston Munyabugingo, who previously worked with Ingabire, testified about alleged cooperation between FDU-Inkingi and other groups in a plan to overthrow the Rwandan government.
According to Munyabugingo’s testimony, P5, a coalition led by Kayumba Nyamwasa, had planned to stage a coup during a government leadership retreat held in Gabiro on February 15-16, 2020. Ingabire allegedly planned to organise demonstrations in support of the coup.
The prosecution said Ingabire was allegedly expected to mobilise about 5,000 people to take to the streets and support those who would have overthrown the government.
“In support of that operation, Ingabire Umuhoza Victoire allegedly had the responsibility of mobilising about 5,000 people who would take to the streets to demonstrate and support those who had already overthrown the government,” the prosecution said.
The prosecution further said that Ingabire asked Munyabugingo to accommodate her because she feared for her safety during the planned coup, while Munyabugingo also expressed concerns.
It said Ingabire had planned to move to Gicumbi but abandoned the plan following the arrest of singer Kizito Mihigo in February 2020 as he attempted to flee to Burundi.
After the plan to go to Gicumbi was abandoned, Munyabugingo allegedly hid Ingabire, who was disguised in Muslim clothing and was not wearing her glasses. She was reportedly accompanied by Leonille Gasengayire, a woman she lived with who served as a treasurer.
The prosecution said Munyabugingo also testified that Ingabire was in communication with Charlotte Mukankusi, who was responsible for diplomatic affairs within the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), a group founded by Nyamwasa.
Prosecutors further told the court that a document prepared by the RNC outlining how Rwanda would be governed after the alleged coup was found on Ingabire’s phone.
They said the document was accompanied by a chart containing the names of 79 people, including government and military officials, and allegedly proposed a system of appointments based on ethnic considerations, with Ingabire serving as president. Ingabire calls allegations ‘rumours’
During a hearing on October 1, 2026, Ingabire challenged the allegations, saying the prosecution had failed to demonstrate that the alleged coup ever took place.
She questioned the basis for accusing her of planning a coup based on Munyabugingo’s testimony.
“Did that coup happen? The prosecution has not demonstrated that it happened. If it did not happen, has it shown why it did not happen? People cannot discuss things in WhatsApp groups where people say that the RNC planned a coup, and then the prosecution says it planned a coup,” Ingabire said.
Regarding the allegation that she planned to mobilise 5,000 people to demonstrate in support of the coup, Ingabire questioned whether prosecutors had produced evidence of an agreement between her and the RNC to carry out the alleged operation.
“Have they demonstrated any agreement between me and the RNC to carry out a coup? The prosecution must move away from rumours and things circulating on social media and bring evidence,” she said.
Munyabugingo also testified that Ingabire later changed the purpose of the planned demonstrations to disrupting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which was scheduled to take place in Kigali.
Ingabire, however, said her involvement during preparations for CHOGM was limited to hosting a group of foreign participants at her home.
The judge asked whether the visit was simply a social one.
Ingabire said they discussed politics, the Commonwealth and Rwanda’s membership of the organisation. She added that the visitors had helped her politically by contributing to her increased visibility.
Ingabire Victoire has challenged coup allegations, calling them ‘WhatsApp rumours’
Ingabire and nine others are on trial at the High Court in Kigali in a case that began on September 18, 2026. The prosecution has presented audio recordings and other evidence which it says demonstrate plans to overthrow the Government.
Two recordings from May 2020 featured conversations between Ingabire and Ntamuhanga. One concerned alleged military training in Burundi, while another discussed a possible demonstration at a major roundabout in Kigali.
In the recording played on September 21, Ntamuhanga is heard discussing what he called “Tura Tugabane” insinuating ‘take over of something by force’.
Ingabire asks whether there was capacity to develop a plan to overthrow the Government. The prosecution interpreted some coded expressions used by Ntamuhanga, including references to “heavy scales” and calabashes, as referring to heavy weapons and grenades.
The prosecution also said Ntamuhanga’s reference to “men at the feet of Africa” referred to people based in South Africa, including Kayumba Nyamwasa.
Prosecutors further alleged that the two discussed training fighters in Mutaga, Burundi, and that Ingabire asked Ntamuhanga to contact a person identified as Placide to develop the matter further.
However, appearing before court on October 1, Ingabire challenged the recording and said the conversation did not constitute an agreement.
“Regarding that audio about Burundi and Mutaga, nowhere did I tell Cassien that I agreed with what he was telling me. Let them examine whether those coded expressions were mine or Cassien’s. I told Cassien that I was not available,” she said.
Ingabire said Ntamuhanga had called her and that they discussed the issues, but denied agreeing to his proposals. She said referring him to Placide, who lives in Belgium, was intended to distance herself from the alleged plan.
She also said she spoke to Ntamuhanga despite his having fled Rwanda because, as a politician, she needed to understand the positions and activities of different people.
“As a politician, you need to know all the information. Where do you stand? How do you stand? What are others thinking? What are they doing?” she said.
The presiding judge asked whether Ntamuhanga was a politician, and Ingabire said he belonged to a political party called RANP Abaryankuna.
Kigali demonstration
A second recording played on September 22 featured a discussion about a possible demonstration in Kigali.
Ntamuhanga said they had three experienced motorcycle taxi operators who could participate. Ingabire suggested recruiting others from Nyabugogo, Remera, Muhima and Nyamirambo, reaching 50 riders.
She is heard discussing a vehicle fitted with a loudspeaker that would reach a major roundabout, appear to break down and then play a song by the late singer Kizito Mihigo. She also described roads being blocked as people gathered around the vehicle.
Ntamuhanga responded that the plan would require caution and suggested using a sealed cargo vehicle with a generator.
Ingabire told court on October 1 that the discussion was actually about the possible impact of Covid-19 on governments and had been prompted by a report published in France.
She said the conversation involved discussing how weaknesses in government could be exposed during the pandemic, including issues surrounding food distribution.
Ingabire maintained that the conversation ended without an agreement to implement the ideas discussed.
“What happened was that we had a discussion based on that report. Nowhere did we conclude by saying, ‘We are going to do this,’ for the prosecution to use it to say that Ingabire and Cassien agreed to establish a criminal organisation,” she said.
She added that the prosecution could have relied on the conversations differently if Ntamuhanga had been a member of her political party, DALFA Umurinzi.
The court recently listened to recordings of conversations between Cassien Ntamuhanga and Ingabire Victoire.Ingabire Victoire said she did not reach any agreement with Cassien Ntamuhanga on the issues discussed in either of the two recordings.
Ingabire, the founder of the unregistered DALFA Umurinzi political party, made the remarks on September 28 as she began presenting her defence before the Kigali High Court.
She is on trial alongside nine other defendants over charges related to an alleged plot to overthrow the government. The defendants began presenting their defence after the prosecution concluded four days of submissions.
The prosecution has alleged that Ingabire founded and led FDU Inkingi, which later joined P5, a coalition of groups opposed to the Rwandan government. It has also linked the coalition to attacks carried out in Musanze District in October 2019.
Ingabire rejected the allegations, saying she had no role in the formation of P5 because she was in prison at the time.
She said P5 was established in June 2016, while she was serving a prison sentence, and that she only learned after her release in September 2018 that FDU Inkingi had changed its leadership structure.
Ingabire said FDU Inkingi’s rules did not allow it to join a coalition of armed groups such as P5, which the prosecution has described as having a military structure led by Kayumba Nyamwasa, a former Rwandan military officer.
On the October 2019 attack in Musanze, Ingabire denied any involvement and said she was among those who condemned the incident publicly.
She said she issued a statement condemning the attack at the time.
The prosecution has also alleged that Ingabire was previously associated with RDR (Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Retour de Réfugiés), a group established in former Zaire that sought the return of Rwandan refugees and later became ALiR and FDLR.
Ingabire disputed this, saying she had never belonged to that organisation. She said she was instead associated with a different group with a similar acronym, RDR (Rassemblement Républicain pour la Démocratie au Rwanda).
She also denied prosecution claims concerning her political activities while she was in prison.
Ingabire led FDU Inkingi until her arrest on October 14, 2010. She argued that she should not be held responsible for the party’s activities during the period she was incarcerated.
She was released in September 2018 after receiving a presidential pardon.
Ingabire also asked the court not to treat her as a repeat offender, referring to her 2013 conviction, which she said she appealed before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. She told the court that the case resulted in her acquittal and an order for compensation of more than Rwf60 million.
“The prosecution also knows that a person who is in prison does not engage in politics,” she told the court.
The prosecution has further alleged that Ingabire established DALFA Umurinzi in 2019 to distance herself from FDU Inkingi’s alleged involvement in the Musanze attack, while maintaining similar political activities.
It has also alleged that Ingabire initially sought to overthrow the government through armed means but later turned to non-violent methods after that approach failed, including efforts to create unrest among the population.
Ingabire rejected that characterization, saying she believes political change should be achieved peacefully and through democratic principles.
“As a politician, a mother and a Christian, I believe that the appropriate way to change a government is through means that do not involve bloodshed and that respect democratic principles,” she told the court.
The prosecution has also raised allegations concerning training sessions attended mainly by people associated with DALFA Umurinzi. The sessions were presented as English-language training, but prosecutors allege they were intended to support a plan to overthrow the government.
According to the prosecution, Nsabimana Sylvain led a group of participants in Rwanda, while a woman identified as Assumpta, who lives in Switzerland, led another group abroad. It alleged that Ingabire coordinated the two groups.
Ingabire disputed the alleged links to DALFA Umurinzi, saying participants had told the court they attended the sessions in their individual capacities.
She also referred to testimony by prosecution witness Boniface Nzabandora during an earlier hearing, which she said supported that account.
Ingabire told the court there was no evidence linking the 26 participants to DALFA Umurinzi and no evidence that she attended or was involved in the training sessions.
The court adjourned the case until October 1, when Ingabire is expected to continue presenting her defence.
Ingabire, the founder of the unregistered DALFA Umurinzi political party, made the remarks on September 28 as she began presenting her defence before the Kigali High Court.
The decision was delivered on September 22, 2026, a day after the prosecution and Shema’s defence agreed to a settlement under which he admitted to two charges.
The charges are issuing a dishonoured cheque, provided for under Article 126 of Law No. 060/2021 of October 14, 2021, governing negotiable instruments, and obtaining another person’s property through fraud, provided for under Article 174 of Law No. 68/2018 of August 30, 2018, on offences and penalties in general.
The offences stemmed from Shema issuing two cheques worth a combined $600,000 to settle obligations under a contract between his company, Africa Media Supplier, and ABZL International General Trading LLC, a company based in the United Arab Emirates.
In the plea agreement submitted to the court, the prosecution told the court that Shema had already paid the money and requested that he be sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for one year, and fined Rwf3 million.
In its ruling on Tuesday, the court approved the agreement and sentenced Shema to six months in prison, suspended for one year, and a Rwf3 million fine.
The court ordered that the terms of the agreement take effect immediately following the reading of the decision, resulting in his release.
The ruling came as Shema’s defence had previously appealed to the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court against a decision concerning his 30-day pre-trial detention.
One of Shema’s lawyers told IGIHE that following his release, they would withdraw the appeal they had filed.
Nyarugenge Primary Court has ordered the release of Fabrice Shema
Under the agreement, Shema admitted to two offences: issuing a cheque without sufficient funds and fraudulently obtaining another person’s property.
The agreement was reached under Article 26 of Law Nº027/2019 of September 19, 2019, on criminal procedure, as well as Articles 5 and 9 of the Prosecutor General’s Guidelines Nº6/2022 of July 19, 2022, on plea agreements.
Shema admitted to the offences after reaching an agreement with the prosecution on September 15, 2026.
He admitted to issuing a cheque without sufficient funds, an offence provided for under Article 126 of Law Nº060/2021 of October 14, 2021, governing negotiable instruments.
He also admitted to fraudulently obtaining another person’s property, an offence provided for under Article 174 of Law Nº68/2018 of August 30, 2018, determining offences and penalties in general.
How the case started
The prosecution said the case stemmed from a business transaction between ABZL International General Trading LLC, a company based in the United Arab Emirates and represented by Jesse Harry Ndambala, and Africa Medical Supplier, represented by Shema.
The two companies entered into an agreement on January 23, 2024, for the purchase of medical equipment worth €1,092,736.
On October 3, 2025, ABZL International General Trading LLC, through lawyer Gahizi Safari, filed a complaint against Africa Medical Supplier and Shema, accusing them of issuing two bounced cheques and fraudulently obtaining its property.
According to the prosecution, Shema repeatedly delayed payment despite being contacted by the company. He responded by email, promising to settle the debt, before issuing two cheques drawn on I&M Bank.
One cheque was for $400,000 and the other for $200,000. The company alleged that the cheques had been incorrectly written in a way intended to prevent the bank from processing them.
When the investigation began, Shema denied the offences. He has since admitted that there was not enough money in his account when he issued the cheques.
He told investigators that he intended to deposit funds from accounts he held in other banks. He also said the cheques were cancelled by the bank before they could be presented for payment and that he has since resolved the dispute by paying the company.
Terms of the plea agreement
Under the agreement, the prosecution will ask the court to convict Shema of issuing a cheque without sufficient funds and fraudulently obtaining another person’s property.
The prosecution will also ask the court to impose a six-month prison sentence suspended for one year and a fine of Rwf3 million.
ABZL International General Trading LLC did not participate in the plea agreement because the payment dispute had already been resolved and the company had been paid.
The agreement applies only to the prosecution of the two offences covered by it.
It does not affect the right of any person to bring civil, commercial, labour or administrative proceedings, nor does it affect any other decisions that may be taken by other authorities.
The parties agreed that if the court rejects the agreement, it will have no legal effect and the prosecution will continue as though the agreement had not been made.
The prosecution also agreed that information provided by Shema during the plea-bargaining process cannot be used for any purpose other than those related to the agreement.
Until the agreement is approved by the court, either party may withdraw from it in writing, provided the reasons are explained to the other party.
The agreement was signed on September 21, 2026, by Shema, his lawyers Rutagengwa Jean Damascène, Me Sangano Yves and Me Niyomugabo Christophe, and prosecutor Tuyisenge Vestine.
What happens next?
Shema is expected to appear before court on September 23, 2026.
His lawyers had notified the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court on September 17 that they were not ready to proceed with the appeal concerning his detention and provisional release because of the agreement reached with the prosecution, which had not yet been presented to the court.
Businessman and Rwanda Football Federation (FERWAFA) President Shema Fabrice Ngoga paid $600,000 owed in a case involving two bounced cheques after reaching a plea agreement with the prosecution.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on September 21 that Dr Vincent Bajinya, now known as Vincent Brown, had been charged with one offence of conduct ancillary to genocide and six offences of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity.
The charges are brought under Section 52 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001.
According to the CPS, the charges relate to allegations that Bajinya took part in the Genocide against the Tutsi in April 1994 and directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others.
“The Crown Prosecution Service made its decision after reviewing a file of evidence submitted by the War Crimes Team at the Metropolitan Police. We concluded that our legal test for bringing criminal charges had been met,” said Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division.
The CPS said its decision to prosecute was made independently of the police and government and based on the available evidence.
Bajinya, who was born in Kigombe Cell, Karago Commune, in the former Gisenyi Prefecture, now lives in Islington, north London, and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, September 22.
Bajinya trained as a medical practitioner and later worked as a physician at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali. He also held a position at the National Office for Population (ONAPO), where his work included family planning and related public education.
He has been alleged to have had links to the Akazu, an informal network associated with President Juvénal Habyarimana and his wife, Agathe. The network was widely described as influential in Rwanda’s political and economic affairs during Habyarimana’s presidency, which began after he took power in a 1973 coup.
Allegations against Bajinya also include involvement in the organisation of roadblocks during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. He was accused of helping to recruit and oversee people manning roadblocks in Rugenge district of Kigali, where he lived, and near Kibihekane School in north-western Rwanda, an area where large-scale killings of Tutsi were reported in the early stages of the genocide.
Witnesses have further alleged that he was involved in the killings of Dominique Leandre in Rugenge, and Charlotte Kamugaja and her infant child.
The historic charges follow years of legal proceedings and investigations involving Bajinya, who was among five genocide suspects living in the UK.
Bajinya arrived in the UK in 1999 with his family. In 2004, he changed his name from Bajinya to Brown after obtaining British citizenship.
He was arrested by UK police in December 2006 alongside three other genocide suspects as part of an extradition case. In 2008, a Westminster Magistrates’ Court judge ruled that the four could be extradited to Rwanda, but the decision was overturned on appeal by the Divisional Court in 2009.
A second extradition attempt began in 2013. In 2015, a UK court ruled that Bajinya and the other suspects could not be extradited to Rwanda on the grounds that they were at risk of not receiving a fair trial. The decision was upheld by the High Court in 2017.
Following a request from Rwandan officials in 2018 for the UK to investigate the five suspects, the Metropolitan Police began assessing available evidence in 2019.
Four of the five suspects, including Bajinya, were voluntarily questioned by police in September 2020 over allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity.
The CPS said criminal proceedings against Bajinya are now active and warned against reporting or sharing information that could prejudice the proceedings.
Vincent Bajinya, who was born in Kigombe Cell, Karago Commune, in the former Gisenyi Prefecture, now lives in Islington, north London, and is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, September 22.
