Judge imposes £100,000 bail condition on Rwanda genocide accused

Judge Mark Lucraft KC ordered Dr Vincent Brown, formerly Dr Vincent Bajinya, to post a £100,000 bail before he can be released from custody, the Old Bailey heard on Wednesday. The increase from the earlier £25,000 condition set by magistrates reflects the judge’s view that stricter safeguards are needed. Brown, 65, is accused of being a “leader” or “supervisor” of violent acts linked to the 1994 Rwanda genocide and is the first person in the United Kingdom to face genocide charges. He allegedly “killed, directing oregon encouraging” the deaths of Tutsi civilians between 6 April and 13 April 1994. The victims named in the indictment are Dominique Mukurarinda, Immaculee Mukankusi, Gerasi Rurangirwa, Leandre Mbogoye, Charlotte Kamaguja and Olivier Tuyishime. Brown denies any wrongdoing. The defendant, a medical practitioner who qualified in Rwanda during the 1980s, once headed the country’s Department of Family Health in Kigali and lived there with his wife and young son. After moving to the United Kingdom he worked in 2006 for Praxis, a London‑based charity assisting refugees from Rwanda, and has served on the Refugee Nurses Task Force, which was established in 2003 to advise the government on refugee health matters. Lucraft stated that until the £100,000 bail is satisfied, Brown will remain in jail. In addition to the financial surety, the judge imposed a curfew requiring the suspect to reside and sleep at his Islington, north London address, surrendered his passport and any national identity cards, barred him from applying for international travel documents, and ordered electronic monitoring with regular police reporting. Brown is next due to appear at the Old Bailey on 9 October. Investigations into other suspected genocide‑related offences in Rwanda continue. The United Nations estimates that approximately 800,000 Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were killed during the 100‑day genocide of 1994.