THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS — On May 16, the death of Félicien Kabuga, the infamous wealthy financier accused of funding the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, was officially announced. Kabuga passed away while still in the custody of the United Nations tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands—though he was no longer actively serving a sentence or standing trial.
The court had previously ruled that Kabuga’s severe health issues rendered him unfit to stand trial. As a result, the man who evaded international justice for nearly three decades died without ever being held legally accountable for his alleged crimes.
A Man Without a Host Country
Prior to his death, Kabuga’s living situation was caught in a diplomatic stalemate. In June 2023, the Chief Prosecutor of the UN tribunal, Serge Brammertz, stated during a visit to Rwanda that the court had asked Kabuga’s defense team to find a host country that would accept him so he could be released from the prison facility.
Brammertz clarified that there was no other mechanism for Kabuga to leave the prison unless a willing host nation stepped forward. None did.
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Rwanda: The only country willing to accept Kabuga was his native Rwanda, which insisted he face justice where his crimes were committed. However, Kabuga and his legal team consistently rejected this option.
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The Netherlands: The Dutch government stated it was not prepared to host him. Authorities tolerated his presence strictly because he was in the tribunal’s detention facility, but they explicitly refused to accept him into regular civilian life.
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France: The country where Kabuga was finally captured in May 2020 also refused to take him in, noting that his presence in France prior to his arrest was entirely illegal, as he had been living under a false identity with forged documents.
The Zigiranyirazo Precedent: A Historical Parallel?
With Kabuga’s death now nearing the two-week mark, questions are swirling about his final resting place. Will his family face the same insurmountable hurdles as the family of Protais Zigiranyirazo?
The families are closely linked through marriage ties to former Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana. In August 2025, that extended family lost a key figure: Protais Zigiranyirazo, the brother of Agathe Kanziga (Habyarimana’s widow).
Following Zigiranyirazo’s death in early August 2025, his family sought permission to bury him in France. Initially, they planned to lay him to rest in Orléans, where his sister Agathe resides. However, the Mayor of Orléans abruptly reversed a previous decision that would have allowed his burial in the public cemetery.
The Mayor justified the reversal by citing Zigiranyirazo’s significant and direct role in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The Mayor warned, “His burial could cause public disorder, and his grave could become a place where genocidaires and their accomplices come to gloat.”
The Fate of the “Prince of the North”
Once the Mayor of Orléans blocked the burial of the former Prefect of Ruhengeri—a man known as “Monsieur Z” or the “Prince of the North,” and identified as a key architect of the genocide—other local authorities quickly followed suit:
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The Catholic Church: The Catholic Bishop of Orléans decreed that no Funeral Mass would be held for him within the diocese, though he added that “those who wish to pray for him may do so, perhaps so that he does not go to hell.”
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Neighboring Towns: Agathe Habyarimana’s family then looked to the neighboring town of Saran, hoping to bury him in the local Ifs cemetery, but the Mayor there also issued a firm refusal.
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Legal Defeat: The family took the Mayor of Orléans to court over the initial refusal, but a French judge upheld the decision, ruling that “Monsieur Z” was legally barred from being buried in the Orléans public cemetery.
After months of exhausting their legal and diplomatic options, the family finally capitulated. In early October 2025, they made the decision to cremate Zigiranyirazo’s remains. According to reports, the cremation took place in a strictly secret location, attended by only four or five close family members.
As the days tick by following Félicien Kabuga’s death, observers are left wondering if the architect of the genocide’s finances will face a similarly quiet and marginalized end.
