As Rwanda gears up for its general elections on July 15, 2024, concerns have been raised by Human Rights Watch regarding the government's crackdown on opposition parties, media outlets, and civil society organizations. The international human rights organization has called upon the Rwandan authorities to ensure that all citizens can freely express their views and exercise their right to vote in a fair and peaceful manner. HRW has also demanded the release of individuals who have been arbitrarily detained, including those held on politically motivated grounds.
According to HRW, 14 members of the unregistered Dalfa-Umurinzi opposition party, along with four journalists and critics, are currently behind bars. Some of these individuals are awaiting trial, with a few having spent more than two years in pretrial detention, while others have been convicted of offenses that are incompatible with international human rights norms. Disturbingly, since the country's last presidential election in 2017, at least five opposition members and four critics and journalists have either died or disappeared under suspicious circumstances.
Clémentine de Montjoye, a senior researcher in HRW's Africa division, has stated that the threat of physical harm, arbitrary judicial proceedings, and lengthy prison sentences, which often lead to torture, have effectively deterred many Rwandans from engaging in opposition activities and demanding accountability from their political leaders. She has urged the authorities to end arbitrary detentions and guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, which are essential for genuinely free and fair elections.
The upcoming presidential election features three candidates: incumbent President Paul Kagame (Rwandan Patriotic Front, RPF), Frank Habineza (Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, DGPR), and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana. Both Habineza and Mpayimana have reported experiencing harassment, threats, and intimidation after announcing their candidacy in the 2017 election, where they won only 0.48% and 0.73% of the votes, respectively.
Throughout President Kagame's decades in power, government authorities have been accused of committing numerous human rights violations against political opposition members, journalists, and other critics. These violations include arbitrary arrests, torture, ill-treatment, and infringement of the rights to freedom of expression and association. Suspicious deaths and disappearances, for which justice is rarely delivered, have also created an environment of fear, discouraging many from speaking out against the government.
The electoral commission has barred Diane Rwigara, the leader of the People Salvation Movement, from running in the 2024 election, citing issues with her documentation. Rwigara and her mother, Adeline, were arrested after the 2017 election on charges that appeared to be politically motivated. Similarly, Victoire Ingabire's Development and Liberty for All (Dalfa-Umurinzi) party has been prevented from registering and participating in elections, with its members facing repeated arrests, imprisonment, and harassment.
Christopher Kayumba, the former editor of The Chronicles newspaper, was arrested in 2021 shortly after establishing a new political party, the Rwandese Platform for Democracy. Although initially acquitted of rape and "sexual misconduct" charges, he was later convicted on appeal and given a two-year suspended sentence. Kayumba had previously claimed that government officials threatened to "destroy" him criminally if he did not cease his political activities.
