Politician Convicted for Harming Rwanda’s Image
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Loading... - Carine Mugisha
- 06 Apr 2023
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Respect Free Speech; Free Detainees; Repeal Abusive Penal Code Provision
The conviction of a Rwandan opposition politician for allegedly tarnishing the country’s image is an example of the government’s longstanding misuse of the justice system to stifle freedom of expression and association, Human Rights Watch said today.
On December 16, 2022, the High Court’s Rwamagana chamber sentenced Théophile Ntirutwa, a member of the unregistered Dalfa-Umurinzi opposition party, to seven years in prison for “spreading false information or harmful propaganda with intent to cause a hostile international opinion against [the] Rwandan Government.” This criminal offense is incompatible with Rwanda’s regional and international human rights obligations, in particular for free speech.
“The conviction of yet another political opponent for allegedly seeking to create hostility against Rwanda demonstrates the high price of getting involved in politics in Rwanda,” said Lewis Mudge, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “It’s all the more astounding because Rwanda currently chairs the Commonwealth, which holds itself out as a champion of rule of law and good governance.”
Ntirutwa was arrested on May 11, 2020, following a violent incident at his shop in Rwamagana District during which a man was stabbed to death. On May 18, Ntirutwa and three others at his shop at the time of the incident were charged with offenses including formation of a criminal association, murder, theft, and, in the case of Ntirutwa, inciting uprising and “spreading false information or harmful propaganda with intent to cause a hostile international opinion against [the] Rwandan Government.” Ntirutwa and his three coaccused spent over two and a half years in pretrial detention.
On December 16, 2022, Ntirutwa was acquitted of all charges except spreading false information with the intent of creating a hostile opinion of Rwanda abroad. Ntirutwa was convicted on the basis of phone calls he made to his party’s leader, Victoire Ingabire, and a journalist, in which he said that the incident was an assassination attempt by armed police and military against him. According to Ntirutwa, the man who died at the shop, Théoneste Bapfakurera, was mistaken for him due to their similar first names. Ntirutwa’s three coaccused Frodouard Hakizimana, Francine Mukantwari, and Jean Bosco Rudasingwa were acquitted. Read More…
