Rwanda Arrests Opposition Leader In Crackdown On Dissent

Rwanda Arrests Opposition Leader in Crackdown on Dissent Rwanda Rwandan authorities arrested a prominent opposition leader on suspicion of forming an armed rebel group and planning activities intended to incite public unrest, a move that her legal team and observers say underscores the country’s continued crackdown on dissent under President Paul Kagame, the Financial Times reported over the weekend. Late last week, Rwandan officials confirmed they detained opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, who is being held at a police station in the capital, Kigali. Her arrest follows her appearance in court on Thursday as a witness in a case involving nine defendants accused of plotting to remove the government through non-violent means. Prosecutors say Ingabire communicated with the group, provided financial support, and organized training on unconstitutional regime change. The defendants stand accused of participating in an online training session hosted by a European non-governmental organization in 2021. Her lawyers rejected the claims as baseless, calling the arrest “unlawful and arbitrary” and part of an ongoing campaign of political intimidation, according to Radio France Internationale. Ingabire, a Hutu politician and founder of the DALFA-Umurinzi party, returned to Rwanda from exile in 2010 to contest the presidential election but was barred from running and later imprisoned for 15 years on charges of terrorism and denying the 1994 genocide. In 2017, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights found that her rights had been violated over her 2010 imprisonment. While the government ignored the ruling, Kagame pardoned her in 2018. Even so, she has remained a vocal critic of Kagame, who took control of the African nation after the 1994 genocide and has been in office as president since 2000. Though he has been praised for the country’s economic development since the genocide, the long-running leader has come under criticism for his continuous stifling of dissent. Numerous members of the opposition have been imprisoned, while others have died under mysterious circumstances. Analysts suggested that the recent arrests highlight concerns about domestic stability within Kagame’s regime, particularly amid rumors about the president’s health and rising international pressure over Rwanda’s role in regional instability, such as its aid to rebels invading the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last week, Rwanda and the DRC agreed on a draft deal to end decades of conflict in talks mediated by the United States and Qatar. Share this story