It was largely on the basis of this relationship that Kabuga, a wealthy businessman and member of Habyarimana's political inner circle, became among the most protected individuals in Kenya, regardless of his fugitive status.
Indeed, by the time the then Vice President Paul Kagame's plane left Nairobi, almost all the fugitives on the list, including Jean Kambanda, who served as prime minister of the regime that carried out the Genocide against the Tutsi, during the 100 days, had been rounded up and flown to Arusha, the seat of the ICTR.
However, Kabuga remained at large and former ICTR chief prosecutor, Jallow, says that, in 2012, Kenyan authorities communicated to his office that the fugitives had left their country.
Businessman killed, thwarting Kabuga arrest
Reflecting on how the Rwandan fugitive exploited the corrupt Kenyan system under Moi's rule to stay ahead of his pursuers, Kenya's Daily Nation recounts how a Nairobi businessman who had gotten very close to Kabuga was killed as he was about to deliver him to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents.
In a news release after Munuhe's murder, the US embassy in Nairobi called on the Kenyan government to investigate the killing and went on to affirm that while "the precise circumstances of his death are mysterious and as yet, unresolved, the embassy believes that his death is directly related to his willingness to come forward with information on the whereabouts of Félicien Kabuga".
