Rwanda: Worst Fears on the Fate of Mrs Ingabire Umuhoza as Ruling Party Extremists Call for her Head to Roll

The Rwandan Investigation Bureau (RIB) has called the award-winning opposition leader Mrs Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza to its offices for questioning. The move followed calls made over the weekend on a local “TV channel 250” to get Mrs Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza arrested at least and killed at best. The callers disingenuously try to link Victoire Ingabire to the murder of Pastor Theoneste Bapfakurera killed by a criminal gang estimated at 9 people armed with traditional weapons, at the shop of Theophile Ntirutwa, former FDU-Inkingi member and now member of DALFA party of Mrs Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza.

Mrs Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza has been called names by ruling party officials including comparing her to “Ebola, having sucked genocidal ideology from her mum’s breasts”, being hooligan etc…

In one of his inflammatory speeches made by Presidential special adviser on security, General Kabarebe on November 13, 2019 members of AERG’s (Association des Etudiants et Elèves Rescapés du Génocide) meeting, he said : “I hate it because I see one million people in one person with genocidal ideology. He/she is awfully bad. I think that even if you want to hit him/her you may need to use the most lethal weapon. We have to be sure that he/she is dead “

It is an open secret that the pastor was killed for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time and for sharing the short name Theo (for Théoneste and Théophile) with Ntirutwa. Three survivors of the attack including Théophile Ntirutwa have been arrested and are in detention while the criminals are at large. Everyone is quite aware in the Rwanda police state that 9 criminals cannot carry out such an act unnoticed. The justification for the accusation is that Theophile Ntirutwa, now in detention, charged with the murder called Mrs Ingabire on the phone after the murder.

FDU-Inkingi have strong fears that the RIB might take the easiest option of sending her back to jail as she has been a thorn in the flesh of the system denouncing the mishandling of the corona virus pandemic. She has been in the news criticising wrong measures and giving advice on what needs to be done.

This is not the first time that Mrs Victoire Umuhoza is summoned to appear before RIB officials, but this time, following all calls recently made for her to be killed, we fear that that she might be thrown in general Paul Kagme’s dungeon for good. We appeal to all peace-loving people and friends of Rwanda to help save Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, a key voice of the people inside Rwanda and stop the rampant extremism and persistent political intolerance in Rwanda.

Done in Rouen May 18, 2020.

Théophile MPOZEMBIZI

Commissioner FDU-INKINGI in charge of Information and Communication

infocominfo@fdu-rwanda.com ; info@fdu-rwanda.com