Rwanda police rearrests Kagame's female critic for third time

Rwanda police have confirmed the rearrest Diane Rwigara, of a female critic of President Paul Kagame and failed presidential aspirant.

The incident which took place on Saturday (September 23) is the third time Diane, her mother and sister have been picked up by the police.

Adeline Rwigara, Anne Rwigara, and Diane Rwigara according to a Rwanda National Police (RNP) statement are being detained over offenses against state security and forgery.

The RNP statement added: “During ongoing investigations, police uncovered credible evidence linking the trio to offenses against state security.

“The decision to arrest was in addition to the behavior of the suspects during preliminary investigations, particularly their consistent refusal to cooperate with the police and publicly revealing information that is, by law, supposed to be confidential.

“The Criminal procedure law gives investigators powers to detain a suspect for a maximum of five days in order to conclude investigations and decide, based on the evidence, whether or not to forward the case to prosecution.”

The 35-year-old is accused of forgery during the filing of papers in her bid to contest in the August 4 presidential polls. She is said to have included names of dead people leading to the charge of forgery.

Her mother and sister on the other hand are held for tax evasion with respect to the family’s tobacco business. Tax authorities said they had failed to file tax returns for over three years.