The Rwandan Investigation Bureau (RIB) announced on Friday, June 20, the arrest of prominent Rwandan opposition figure Victoire Ingabire on charges of “inciting opposition against the government.”
Ingabire’s arrest came shortly after she attended a trial session in Kigali involving nine defendants accused of distributing a book by Serbian activist Srdja Popovic, titled “How to Defeat a Dictator When You Are Alone, Weak, and Unarmed,” which discusses methods of peaceful resistance against authoritarian regimes.
The RIB confirmed that Ingabire’s detention is part of the enforcement of a Supreme Court ruling related to the trial of Sylvain Sibomana, the former secretary-general of the banned Unified Democratic Forces party, and several of his associates, paving the way for her inclusion in the same trial, though further details were not disclosed.
During the trial session, 56-year-old Ingabire denied the charges against her, affirming that she knows some of the defendants but has no connection to the accusations in the case. She added that authorities are attempting to link unrelated events.
Ingabire’s party, “Development and Freedom for All” (Dalfa-Umurinzi), which is not officially recognized by the authorities, faces serious legal threats, with reports suggesting she may face charges related to “forming a criminal association and publicly inciting opposition against the government.”
This is not Ingabire’s first arrest; she was previously imprisoned in 2010 after calling for recognition of victims of the genocide against the Hutu, alongside Tutsi victims, as part of a comprehensive national reconciliation process. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was released after serving eight years following a presidential pardon.
