INGABIRE COURT HEARING: STONEWALLING, DISPLAY OF FORCE AND HUMILIATION

By Sylvain SIBOMANA
FDU-INKINGI
Secretary General.

Kigali 25th November 2010

On the request of the Prosecutor, Ms. Victoire INGABIE, FDU-INKINGI Chair, was again handcuffed and taken to GASABO intermediate Court for a 30-day extension of her provisional detention. The stonewalling and Prosecutor's obstructions to a fair trial in a background of impressive display of force and humiliations leave no hope for a fair trial in Rwanda. While she is treated like one of the worst criminals of the planet, the government is not ready for the evidential stage of the trial. The Court will deliver the verdict tomorrow 11:00.

The justifications produced in Court are all new delaying manoeuvres: certification of email copies, exchange letters with the Rwandan Embassy in Switzerland, preparation of letters rogatory and interrogations of new witnesses. Apparently nothing has been done during the whole time of incarceration and the accusation did not submit any new motion. How many years do they need to wrap up the case?

The independence of justice in Rwanda is a crucial question. Most of the judges are members of the ruling party and execute orders from the regime. In his exclusive interview with Monitor Managing Editor Daniel Kalinaki published on 25 May 2010 , President Paul Kagame shows, in strong terms, that all in being done to silence the opposition leader Ms. Victoire Ingabire and he stated: “This is somebody, a candidate, a so-praised opposition leader, yes, but wait a minute; if there are cases to answer, you answer them (…). This woman will certainly be where she belongs”. Who is the judge who will contract the President and where is he going to get asylum or life insurance from?

Another proof of the judicial mess is the on-spot suspension last week of military court judges Brigadier General Steven KARYANGO and Lt. Colonel Marc SEBAGANJI who cleared the detained Colonel Diogen MUDENGE of all charges, declared him not guilty and ordered his immediate release. He is still in custody and the judges are under prosecution for unprofessional conduct. This is the dilemma of all judges in Rwanda: will they deliver justice against their positions and freedoms? Will they free victims and take their places or join them in jails?

While the ruling party is preparing a next round of local elections in Rwanda in March 2011, leaders of opposition parties are incarcerated while others are pushed into exile. The same time the investigations over the political assassinations of the Vice President of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, Mr. André Kagwa Rwisereka, and the journalist Jean-Leonard Rugambage are obstructed.

A manhunt against FDU-INKINGI followers throughout the whole country has been launched. The arrested party members in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri are being offered guilty plea deals by the Prosecution in exchange of false accusations to wage war and fake testimonies against Ms. Victoire INGABIRE on terrorist acts, illegal detention and smuggling of firearms.

If the government can not let free the judicial, it should close down the court masquerade, and stop fooling Rwandans and the international community that justice is done in Rwanda. Those within the civilised nations who are silently witnessing this parody are not making any difference.

Related Materials:
JUDICIAL AMBUSH: MS. VICTOIRE INGABIRE'S SURPRISE COURT APPEARANCE

DEBATE CONFERENCE ON THE SITUATION OF THE FDU INKINGI PARTY IN RWANDA, NATIONAL UNITY AND RECONCILIATION AND THE FUTURE OF THE DRC UNITED NATIONS MAPPING REPORT