Rwandan opposition leader arrested again
By Our Staff Writer
18th Oct 2010
Victoire Ingabire, Rwanda’s most prominent opposition leader and arch critic of the Rwandan government has been arrested. Rwandan Police say the opposition leader was “…implicated in an investigation into the activities of an ex-commander of a Hutu militia group”.
Ms Ingabire returned from exile in January 2010 to challenge incumbent President Paul Kagame but she was barred from contesting as a presidential candidate in the general elections held last August. Ms Ingabire is still facing earlier charges of collaborating with a terrorist group and denying the 1994 genocide.
Ms Ingabire, who leads the FDU-Inkingi party, is a Hutu; the same tribe that is accused of mass the murder of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the 1994 genocide.
Rwanda’s Police spokesman Eric Kayiranga said that on Wednesday, Major Vital Uwumuremyi, a former commander in the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda [FDLR], was arrested on suspicion of forming a terrorist organisation. The FDLR is a Hutu dominated militia that is said to operate in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Mr Kayiranga also revealed that Victoire Ingabire was arrested from her home in Kigali “…after investigations revealed that the charges against Major Uwumuremyi implicate Ms Ingabire”.
Human rights groups have however accused the Rwandan government of using terrorist allegations to stifle opposition in the country; a charge that the authorities in Kigali vehemently deny. END. If it’s Monday, it’s Uganda Correspondent. Never miss out again!
