Rwanda arrests opposition leader Victoire Ingabire over alleged role in plot to incite unrest
Ingabire is currently being held at the RIB Remera Station in Kigali, pending the transfer of her case file to the National Public Prosecution Authority.
Rwandan opposition figure Victoire Ingabire has been arrested by the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) on allegations of mobilising a group accused of plotting to incite public unrest and destabilise national order.
The arrest, announced late on Thursday via RIB’s official X account, came just hours after Ingabire appeared before the High Court in Kigali in connection with an ongoing criminal trial involving nine other individuals.
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Ingabire, the leader of the unregistered opposition party DALFA–Umurinzi, was released in 2018 after serving six years in prison. She had been sentenced to 15 years in 2012 following her conviction on charges of attempting to form an armed group and minimising the 1994 genocide.
The investigation stems from a High Court order in the case involving Sibomana Sylvain and his co-accused, which includes YouTuber Theoneste Nsengimana. Prosecutors allege that the group conspired to overthrow the government.
“At the request of the prosecution, RIB has launched an investigation against Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza as part of the implementation of a High Court order in a case involving Sibomana Sylvain and his co-accused,” said the Rwanda Investigation Bureau in a statement.
“Ingabire is being investigated for playing a role in creating a criminal gang and engaging in acts that incite public disorder.”
Ingabire is currently being held at the RIB Remera Station in Kigali, pending the transfer of her case file to the National Public Prosecution Authority.
In 2012, she was convicted on charges of forming an armed group and denying the 1994 genocide. Her 15-year sentence was later reduced to 13 years in 2013.
However, she was released in 2018 after President Paul Kagame commuted her sentence, along with those of over 2,000 other inmates.
Ingabire had returned to Rwanda in 2010 after years of exile in the Netherlands to contest the presidential election. Her candidacy was blocked, and she was later charged with offences related to genocide denial.
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