Rwanda says it may prosecute Faustin Twagiramungu, the country’s first prime minister after the 1994 genocide, who is in exile in Belgium, for his recent threat to take up arms if the government does not allow the free return of refugees.

Kigali issued the statement after Mr Twagiramungu posted a YouTube video last Monday, in which he threatened to take up arms against Rwanda if the government does not put in place a programme to facilitate the return of Rwandan refugees.

“There must be a government programme for the return of over 5,500 refugees, particularly those in the bush in DRC and other countries.
This should be in place this year or next year,” said Mr Twagiramungu, a vocal critic of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF).

Mr Twangiramungu, who ran against President Paul Kagame in 2003, is the founder of opposition group RDI-Rwanda Rwiza.

However, early last year, his party and a faction of the Parti Sociale (PS) Imberakuri loyal to opposition leader Bernard Ntaganda are alleged to have formed a coalition with Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), the rebel group accused of committing the 1994 genocide.

The Kigali government has been pushing for military action against FDLR, saying they pose a major threat to peace and security of the country.

The UN set January last year as the deadline for the rebels to the surrender or face military action as had been demanded by the Rwandan government.

Kigali has said it will not recognise anybody associated with “a terrorist organisation.”

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The National Prosecutor’s spokesman Alphonse Nkusi, told The EastAfrican that Mr Twagiramungu’s actions are criminal, although there is no immediate plan to file a case against him.

“We have keenly followed what Mr Twagiramungu has claimed over the years and have assessed that much of what he says falls under criminal offences committed against Rwanda. However, we have no plans to begin legal proceedings against him as per now,” he said.

Mr Twagiramungu is not considered a political refugee, according to the Minister of Refugees and Disaster Preparedness, but rather an individual who willingly left the country.

“He is not the spokesperson of refugees and we do not consider what he says. We do not recognise Faustin Twagiramungu as a refugee, because if he were, he would not be participating in political gimmicks by inciting violence against a sovereign country,” she said.

On the political rights of refugees, the UNHCR states that where a political group advocates a war of aggression contrary to the restriction on the use of force in the UN Charter, the host state is obliged to prevent them from doing so.