The International Network of Women for Democracy and Peace is deeply concerned about the toxic climate prevailing in Rwanda and the African Great Lakes region.
This toxic environment, unfortunately, is being propagated by state institutions, beginning with the highest authority of the State—namely, the Presidency of the Republic of Rwanda through President Paul Kagame himself.
In his recent speeches, notably the one delivered on December 12, 2024[1], before the National Assembly during the swearing-in ceremony of the President of the Supreme Court, his words shocked the audience and were perceived as instrumentalizing the assassinations of genocide survivors to suppress political opposition in Rwanda.
On November 14, 2024, Pauline Nduwamungu, a 66-year-old survivor of the 1994 genocide, was assassinated in the village of Akabungo, Rubago Cell, Rukumberi Sector, Ngoma District, in Rwanda’s Eastern Province. Following this incident, the Rwandan Investigation Bureau (RIB) announced an ongoing investigation and reported several arrests. To date, no further information has been released by the RIB regarding this case. We regret and strongly condemn this and other assassinations of genocide survivors that have occurred in various regions of Rwanda.
During the swearing-in ceremony of the new President of the Supreme Court on December 12, 2024, President Paul Kagame spoke of the need to enforce the law to end the killings of survivors. While lamenting the judiciary’s failure to stop these massacres, he explicitly suggested that other methods would be used if judicial institutions proved inadequate. The Rwandan president repeatedly emphasized that these assassinations must be stopped immediately by any means necessary, adding, to the audience’s surprise, that the methods employed to stop these killings need not necessarily be disclosed to the public.
Such statements from a head of state resonated with the audience as a tacit signal justifying extrajudicial executions. Furthermore, President Kagame’s remarks implicitly implicated political opponent Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza in the genocide survivors’ assassinations, despite not explicitly naming her and presenting no evidence.
These allegations sparked a wave of hateful discourse on social media. On December 5, 2024, the Rwandan Public Prosecutor accused Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza of orchestrating an alleged plot to overthrow the Kigali government. It is evident that the government is intensifying its campaign to discredit Ms. Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, in line with President Kagame’s earlier statements.
Victoire Ingabire, a frequent target of President Kagame, has become a symbol of nonviolent resistance in Rwanda and the African Great Lakes region. Her efforts have garnered national and international recognition, including the 2024 Freedom Prize awarded by Liberal International[2] during its annual congress in Santiago, Chile.
The political maneuvers of the Rwandan authorities highlight the challenges the country faces concerning justice, reconciliation, and respect for human rights. Using these tragedies to consolidate authoritarian power underscores governance rooted in fear and division.
The International Network of Women for Democracy and Peace calls on the Rwandan people and the international community to remain vigilant. Our appeal is a serious warning to prevent sinister ambitions, from any source, that could plunge the Rwandan people into new tragedies.
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Notes
1 https://www.paulkagame.com/president-kagame-officiates-swearing-in-of-new-chief-justice-and-deputy- chief-justice-kigali-12-december-2024/
2 https://liberal-international.org/people/victoire-ingabire-umuhoza/
Featured image: Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza – The Rwandan opposition leader (Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)
