Second, his arrest revisits the contested success of transitional justice in Rwanda, and showcases the mixed record of international justice more generally.

In Kabuga's case, the capture was made possible by the investigative work of a special French office that pursues violators of international criminal law.

In the case of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, "reconciliation" was embedded in the UN Resolution setting it up.

One of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda's biggest failures was arguably its inability to challenge Kagame's ethnically divisive narrative.

Insistence on rule of law norms

In the wake of Kabuga's arrest, some international criminal justice scholars have supported Rwanda's call to have him tried in the country, instead of sending him to the tribunal in Arusha.