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Case Victoire Ingabire: Kagame interferes again in the judicial process

by Sylvain Sibomana
Secretary General, FDU-INKINGI.

Ms. Victoire Ingabire’s new bail appeal hearing: President Kagame meddling once again in the case, keeping the judiciary under a bayonet rule.

Opposition Leader Ms Victoire Ingabire, jailed by General Kagame

The bail appeal hearing of Democracy Leader, Ms. Victoire INGABIRE, Chair of FDU-INKINGI , is scheduled on Monday, 13th December 2010, at 8:00 am. She is under prison detention since 14th October 2010. As usual, President General Paul KAGAME unveiled the colour of the hearing. In a series of interviews recorded between 04-07 December 2010 in Brussels by Belgian journalists Colette BRAECKMAN and Fran�ois MISSER, he unleashed his anger at Ms. INGABIRE, labelling her as a “genocide ideological minded”, without adducing the slightest evidence. Some excerpts of that smear campaign have been aired by the BBC French on 08 December 2010.

If for political reasons he can’t let the justice do its work, why he does not go all the way and rule judicial sentences directly and openly from the State House?

Given the kind of allegiance that the judiciary has toward the executive, this utterances from the highest executive office bearer, is tantamount to interference in a judicial process.

The ever changing charge sheet, as well as the endless investigations betray a hidden political agenda of the regime, to perpetuate a climate of instability and instil fear among the opposition. By dragging on the case, the regime intends also to cripple financially the opposition, by engaging it in hefty lawyers’ fees, thereby tying their hands and paralysing other political activities. The trials of the other members of the FDU-INKINGI interim Executive Committee �are scheduled for 05th January 2011. While many other members throughout the country are facing muscled interrogations.

Meanwhile, in an effort to counter the growing protest among the Rwandan exile, president KAGAME called on the latter to return home and see for themselves “the change that his regime has ushered in”. �The president should know that refugees are not green pasture tourists. They fled the country out of genuine fears of persecution. Instead of inviting them to come home, his regime would better stop the influx of exodus abroad, by dealing with root causes behind.

The case of Ms. Victoire INGABIRE, who volunteered and returned home only to be jailed, shows beyond any doubt, that the regime is not ready for a political settlement of the crisis.

Sylvain Sibomana

Tel. +250728636000).

4 comments

1 MAD { 12.11.10 at 6:15 pm }

Maybe someone may clarify me who were these people in the hall praising Kagame. Were there any refugee in the hall? if there were, why aren’t returning home as they seemed so happy and pleased about Kagame’s regime. Maybe this wil give more Hope to ones who do not beleive much in Kagames.
ALL THIS RWANDAN DRAMA IS SO CONFUSING!!!

2 Agaculama { 12.12.10 at 11:22 am }

Netters,

In a classical parlementary democracy, there is an independence between the three classical powers : legislative, executive and judiciary.
In the actual Rwanda, invaded and occupied by the foreign RPF mercenaries, there is no independance between the legislative, executive and judiciary powers, because there is only one power, and because this power is in the hands of only one political party, because this political party is a military party constructed around a nucleus of Intelligence Units, and because the tribal chief of this monoethnic terrorist and militaro-political construction is only one man having seized the power only for having the power and not to share it: this “PAWA” hunter is the self-proclaimed General-Major, Rwandan Chief Executions’ Officer (CEO) and Life President ad interim Paul Kagame. Remember thye “TORA 100%” during the Presidential campaign in August 2010.

Actual Rwanda moto is “OOPIKEH”: “Only One Power In Kagame’s Exclusive Hands”.

3 umulisa { 12.15.10 at 6:02 am }

Mr. Sibomana,
I believe you�d be well advised to hire a media consultant as thus far, you are yet to make any convincing arguments. Let�s take this article, which reads like a press release, why on earth would one think there�s a hidden political agenda, if anything this agenda is being played out in the public eye which begs the questions� Is there really a big plan to perpetuate a climate of instability and instill fear among the opposition?? Or Ms. Ingabire infact being prosecuted for among other things her ties to the militant group FDLR??

Next up, let�s consider this phrase, �The case of Ms. Victoire INGABIRE, who volunteered and returned home only to be jailed, shows beyond any doubt, that the regime is not ready for a political settlement of the crisis�
Well, bravo, Ms.Ingabire did return home, which is what the government has been promoting for years, however she did not land at Kanombe only to be welcomed by Police Officers ready to whisk her to jail. No, she embarked on an elaborate plan to make herself as visible as possible in the hopes that she would eventually run for president. Here�s how people usually do go about gaining recognition, they come up with initiatives that have far-reaching effects, they earn international acclaim for one thing or another, they champion an extremely polarizing cause, they do not however go about trying to re-write history in a criminal manner or financing terrorist groups or cavorting with wanted criminals. So I guess you are right, this regime is not ready for a political settlement of the crisis, as this regime does not and should not negotiate with terrorists.

Kind Regards,
Umulisa

4 umulisa { 12.15.10 at 6:12 am }

Dear Agaculama,

Isn’t it a good idea to wait for 2017 before you call H.E Paul Kagame an interim Life President as he as yet to proclaim himself anything of the sort.

Considering that he has on numerous occasions come and said that he would not adjust the constitution to allow him run again, your argument seems a little far-fetched.

I do remember “Tora 100/100″ and I’m not sure what’s wrong with it, when one enters a race doesn’t one always hope for the best. Does anyone say, I’d like to get 70/100 instead of 100/100?

Kind Regards,
Umulisa

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