Dr Vincent Brown, 65, has become the first person charged in the UK with offences linked to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, following what police described as a complex and extensive seven-year investigation.
Brown, formerly known as Dr Vincent Bajinya, faces one count of conduct ancillary to genocide and six counts of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
The charges concern allegations that Brown directed and incited murder and genocide carried out by other people. Frank Ferguson, head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said Brown 'is alleged to have directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others'.
The allegations have yet to be tested in court. The available details do not set out the evidence supporting the charges, the identity of any witnesses, or the particular acts Brown is accused of directing or inciting.
Brown lives in Islington, north London. Rwandan Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama said he entered the UK as an asylum seeker in 1998. He was granted British citizenship in 2004 and later changed his name.
The Metropolitan Police's War Crimes Team began its inquiry in September 2019 after receiving a formal request from the Rwandan government. Investigators were asked to examine people alleged to have been involved in genocide in the Rugenge district of Kigali in April 1994.
British law permits prosecutions for certain international offences, including genocide and crimes against humanity, where the alleged crimes were committed abroad. The case is the first UK prosecution under those provisions relating to the Rwanda genocide.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: 'This case demonstrates the UK is not a safe haven for individuals suspected of committing international crimes.'
She said other inquiries were continuing. 'A number of other investigations remain ongoing into other individuals in the UK for similar offences related to the genocide in Rwanda,' Flanagan said.
Investigations into six other individuals remain under way. They include two men arrested in 2024 and 2026 on suspicion of genocide and crimes against humanity, who remain on bail. Police have not identified the six individuals or given details of the stage reached in each inquiry.
Over 100 days in 1994, an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed in Rwanda by Hutu extremists. The genocide was orchestrated by the Hutu ruling majority and carried out through the actions of local officials and ordinary citizens.
Authorities in other European countries have also pursued cases connected to the killings. In July, a German-Rwandan national was arrested on charges of taking part in the genocide and killing one person himself. In the Netherlands, a man received a life sentence for taking part in attacks on homes, including launching a grenade at Tutsi civilians sheltering there.
Brown's case will now begin in the magistrates' court. The charge does not establish guilt, and prosecutors must prove their allegations through the criminal process.
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