Africa
Rwandan Opposition Leader Victoire Ingabire Faces Pre-Trial Detention Amid Escalating Crackdown
Rwandan opposition figure Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza is facing pre-trial detention after prosecutors filed charges related to alleged offences against public security, deepening concerns over the country’s clampdown on political dissent.
The National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) confirmed Monday evening that a criminal investigation into Ingabire had been concluded and a case submitted to the Primary Court of Kicukiro. The move follows a probe by the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), initiated after Ingabire’s June 19 testimony in a politically sensitive case involving members of her opposition movement, Dalfa-Umurinzi.
“Following an investigation… the NPPA has filed a case… requesting pre-trial detention for Ingabire Umuhoza Victoire. She is suspected of committing offences against public security,” read the NPPA statement.
Ingabire, long a prominent critic of President Paul Kagame’s administration, was previously imprisoned for eight years on charges widely decried as politically motivated. Her latest prosecution has sparked condemnation from rights defenders.
“Ingabire’s arrest and this trial are only the most recent example of the dangers of political opposition in Rwanda,” said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa Director at Human Rights Watch. “The message is clear: challenging the status quo risks imprisonment.”
A Pattern of Repression
Ingabire’s political career has been marked by state-imposed roadblocks. After her return from exile in 2010 to contest elections, she was arrested and sentenced in 2012 to 15 years for “undermining the state” and “genocide ideology”—terms critics argue are often applied selectively in Rwanda’s political context. Although she received a presidential pardon in 2018, courts in 2024 refused to expunge her criminal record, disqualifying her from running in that year’s presidential election.
The July 2024 polls, in which President Kagame secured over 99% of the vote, were criticised by observers as lacking genuine competition.
Dalfa-Umurinzi, the opposition party she leads, remains unregistered, like its predecessor, FDU-Inkingi. Both have been systematically denied recognition by the Rwanda Governance Board. Members of these parties have faced detention, harassment, and even unexplained disappearances. At least five members have died or gone missing since 2017.
A Widening Dragnet
The charges against Ingabire are linked to an ongoing case involving several Dalfa-Umurinzi members who were arrested in 2021 ahead of a planned “Ingabire Day” event. Among the accused is journalist Théoneste Nsengimana, along with activists Claudine Uwimana and Josiane Ingabire (no relation).
The group is accused of plotting to incite insurrection and forming a criminal association—charges supported by their possession of Blueprint for Revolution, a book on nonviolent resistance, and their attendance at a training organised by the Serbian group CANVAS. Prosecutors have cited the use of encrypted messaging and pseudonyms as evidence of criminal intent.
Their trial only began in late 2024 after more than three years of pre-trial detention, drawing criticism from rights groups over due process violations.
International Concern
Rights organisations have raised alarm over Rwanda’s apparent use of the judiciary to sideline political opposition. “Governments have a responsibility to create a safe and enabling environment for individuals and groups to exercise their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, of expression, and association,” said Human Rights Watch in a statement.
Ingabire’s legal team has announced plans to contest the charges, which they say are politically driven, and to seek her immediate release. The Kicukiro Primary Court is expected to rule on the prosecution’s request for her pre-trial detention in the coming days.
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