UN optimistic of Rwanda genocide fugitive's arrest

KIGALI, Oct 4 (Reuters) A UN court said on Wednesday it was optimistic a top mastermind of Rwanda's 1994 genocide would soon be arrested thanks to increased efforts by Kenyan authorities and recent diplomatic pressure.

Felicien Kabuga, a wealthy Hutu businessman accused of financing the militia behind the slaughter of 800,000 people in Rwanda's genocide, has been at large for more than a decade.

''Mr. Kabuga's time as a free man is coming to an end,'' Everard O'Donnell, the deputy registrar of the Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) told reporters in Kigali. ''I think the government of Kenya is taking the matter seriously now and diligently and we will soon have Kabuga brought to justice,'' he added, without elaborating.

The ICTR says Kabuga frequently visited Kenya, but the east African nation denies allegations it had been remiss in failing to apprehend him.

The ICTR's Chief Prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow visited Nairobi last month and pleaded with senior Kenyan government officials to increase efforts to arrest the fugitive.

He also sought help from diplomats accredited to Nairobi.

Kabuga, the most wanted genocide suspect still at large, has a 5 million dollars United States government bounty on his head.

The ICTR has indicted more than 80 people for genocide-related crimes since starting work 12 years ago.

It has convicted 26 people and acquitted five.

REUTERS MS PM1828