With Thursday’s announcement that Rwandan opposition activist and former presidential hopeful Diane Shima Rwigara and her mother have been acquitted on all charges, the NGO Amnesty International said the decision underscores the need for Rwanda to improve its human rights record. “Diane and Adeline Rwigara should never have faced charges…
It’s been a year since Diane Shima Rwigara, the Rwandan opposition candidate who dared to challenge President Paul Kagame, went missing with her mother Adeline. They remain detained and are formally charged with trying to overthrow the government. The anniversary, coupled with the recent East African outcry over Afrobeats artist…
Rwanda has been arresting and threatening political opponents since President Paul Kagame was re-elected in August, in a repressive response detailed on Friday by the Human Rights Watch organization. “The Rwandan government’s crackdown shows that it is unwilling to tolerate criticism or accept a role for opposition parties, and it…
Police in Rwanda have confirmed the arrest of former presidential aspirant Diane Shima Rwigara, and say Rwigara and two family members were taken to the Criminal Investigation Department for questioning on Monday. The Rwandan National Police say warrants for Rwigara, as well as Anne and Adeline Rwigara, were applied after they…
Where is Diane Shima Rwigara? Authorities in Rwanda deny that the opposition political figure who sought to run against newly elected President Paul Kagame is detained, but multiple accounts from witnesses and family members in recent days dispute their claims. Now the humanitarian organization People Salvation Movement, founded by Rwigara…
On the eve of Rwanda’s presidential election, Diane Shima Rwigara – the disqualified independent candidate who had hoped to challenge President Paul Kagame – warned that he will be “crowned as an undisputed king of Rwanda” and continue to rule a country in fear and without freedoms. Rwigara sat for…
In Rwanda, three candidates seeking to stand for the presidential election on August 4 have been disqualified, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) said, as it announced the final list on Friday. That list of candidates includes incumbent President Paul Kagame, who is expected to win a third seven-year term after…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times