Nearly 30 years after some 800,000 civilians were murdered in an attempt to eradicate the Tutsi ethnic minority in Rwanda, the man accused of funding weapons purchases and backing a radio station that spewed genocidal propaganda is now facing justice in The Hague. But the pace of the trial of 87-year old Félicien Kabuga, and his refusal to attend, leave the court under pressure.
Once Rwanda's wealthiest man and now in the custody of a United Nations tribunal, Félicien Kabuga refused to attend the opening statements in his trial for genocide and murder on September 29-30 in protest after the court refused to allow him to change counsel.
The indictment also connects Kabuga to the Interahamwe, the MRND presidential party's youth wing that was turned into a paramilitary organization.
According to the defense, Kabuga was simply a businessman caught up in the unpredictable violence of a grassroots conflict. Altit described Kabuga's rise to wealth and power, from the son of illiterate farmers who taught himself to read to a salt seller to a businessman with interests in real estate, agriculture and logistics, crediting Kabuga's intelligence and savvy for his success.
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