A London court has set October 2027 for the trial of the first person ever charged in Britain over the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Dr Vincent Brown, 65, formerly known as Vincent Bajinya, appeared by video link from Belmarsh prison at a pre-trial hearing at the Old Bailey on 9 October. Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb set the trial to begin on 4 October 2027, expected to last eight to 12 weeks. A further hearing is scheduled for 15 January 2027, when Brown is expected to be asked to enter a plea. He denies involvement in the genocide.

The charges

Brown faces one charge of conduct ancillary to genocide and six charges of conduct ancillary to murder as a crime against humanity, brought under the UK's International Criminal Court Act 2001. Prosecutors allege he directed or encouraged Interahamwe fighters to kill Tutsi in Kigali between 6 and 13 April 1994. The murder charges relate to the deaths of Dominique Mukurarinda, Immaculée Mukankusi, Gerase Rurangirwa, Charlotte Kamaguja and her young son Olivier Tuyishime, and taxi driver Léandre Mbogoye. Brown was then head of the Department of Family Health at Rwanda's National Office of Population. More than 800,000 people, most of them Tutsi, were killed during the genocide.

A seven-year investigation

The charges followed a seven-year Metropolitan Police War Crimes Team investigation, begun in September 2019 at the Rwandan government's request. The Crown Prosecution Service authorised the charges in September 2026. Brown, a former doctor living in Islington, north London, first appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 22 September, confirming his name, date of birth and address without entering a plea. Bail was set at a £25,000 security, later raised to £100,000, and he remains in custody after failing to meet the conditions.

[Source: Al Jazeera](https://aljazeeranews-mggx1uo47w.edgeone.app/news/2026/9/22/2425) | [Source: Taarifa](https://taarifa.rw/2026/10/10/uk-trial-of-vincent-bajinya-set-for-october-2027/)