Government Critics Languish In Rwandan Jails
The plight of government critics in Rwanda is once again in the spotlight as former presidential candidate Diane Rwigara has penned an open letter to President Paul Kagame in which she calls for an end to political murders in the country.
Rwigara notes with regret that a great number of genocide survivors have since lost their lives in “highly unusual circumstances.”
Her comments come as concerns grow regarding a number of incarcerated and disappeared figures who appear to have done little more than exercise their right to freedom of expression.
While Rwigara was released on bail in October 2018 after a year in jail on charges of inciting insurrection against the government, countless others languish in prison facing lengthy sentences passed down in highly questionable trials.
One such case is that of Retired Brigadier General Frank Rusagara. Arrested on August 18, 2014, Rusagara has been in jail for almost five years.
The former senior official in the defence ministry and defence attaché to London, was handed a 20-year sentence in March 2016 for instigating public insurrection and illegal possession of firearms in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) described as a flawed trial and “a clear example of the misuse of the justice system to stifle freedom of expression.”
Rusagara was alleged to have called Rwanda a “police state” and criticised President Paul Kagame, complaining about the lack of freedom of expression in the country.
His brother-in-law Colonel Byabagamba was arrested just days later, followed by Rusagara’s driver Retired Sergeant Kabayiza.
Among the concerns relating to the trial cited by HRW were “the unreliability of evidence provided by several prosecution witnesses.” While one witness was also a judge in the pre-trial detention phase of the trial, another later stated in his own trial that he had been forced to testify against Rusagara and Byabagamba. Of the eleven witnesses the prosecution presented, the defence was only permitted to cross-examine four.
At the time of Rusagara’s trial the then-Africa director for HRW Daniel Bekele stated, “The Rwandan authorities have the right to prosecute genuine security offences, but this case is a clear use of criminal proceedings to silence criticism of government actions or policy.”
While the Government of Rwanda continues to court international investors, positioning itself as a model for progress and stability on the continent, Rwigara reminds us that the voices of Rusagara and the many should not be forgotten even if they have been silenced.
Too often foreign governments have been quick to heap praise on Rwanda’s successes without any mention of the politically repressed languishing in jail.
As Rwigara wrote in her letter to President Kagame, "Rwandans experienced enough trauma, anguish and loss during the slaughter of their countrymen and women; the last thing they need is oppression from their liberators."