Two Rwandan Members of Parliament and a member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) have resigned, pointing to a possible falling out over ongoing plans to remove presidential term limits to allow President Paul Kagame to seek a third term.

Outspoken MP and member of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front party (RPF) Connie Bwiza Sekamana tendered her resignation on June 5 amid reports that she had been summoned by the Criminal Investigations Department for questioning.

Different reports say the vocal legislator, who has served as MP for 15 years, found herself in trouble over remarks criticising the government and opposing the plan to amend the Constitution.

She could not be reached for comment on her decision, but talking in a phone interview with KFM radio station, the director of the CID, ACP Theos Badege said, “I am not aware of that development [questioning by CID] but if it happened, I would have known,” and instead referred the reporter to police spokesperson CSP Celestin Twahirwa.

Deputy Speaker of parliament Abbas Mukama said that the MP cited personal reasons for her resignation. 

“I think she is in a better position to go into more detail about the reasons for her resignation, but yes, parliament received her letter and accepted her resignation, which she said was because of personal reasons,” said Mr Mukama in a telephone interview.

People familiar with the issue said the MP resigned after being questioned at the Kimihurura-based RPF secretariat over alleged “indiscipline” and “misconduct.” Ms Bwiza had reportedly been asked to apologise to the party for violating its code of conduct.

“She had made several remarks that were thought to be against the party principles and as usual, the party carries the responsibility to whip into line its senior cadres and members if they stray,” said one of the people with knowledge on the case.

Party loyalists

Ms Bwiza and her husband, Jean Marie Sekamana, both senior cadres of RPF and former liberation fighters are allegedly facing accusations of dissenting from the ruling party’s position for voicing criticism of the party and the government.

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The secretary-general of the RPF, Francois Ngarambe, refused to comment on the matter, referring the reporter to parliament, where the MP tendered her resignation.

Ms Bwiza has been outspoken in parliament, taking on officials implicated in mismanaging government resources or failing to implement policies.

Shortly after the resignation of Ms Bwiza, Giovanni Bushishi and Celestin Kabahizi resigned from their positions in the Chamber of Deputies and the East African Legislative respectively.

The duo, both members of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) also cited personal reasons for quitting but subsequent reports indicated that all was not well in Rwanda’s second largest party.

On May 24, a PSD congress voted in favour of plans to amend the Constitution to lift presidential term limits.

Divisions in party

However, during the meeting, divisions emerged within the party, with some party members protesting the proposal to back the removal of term limits. However the president of the party, Dr Vincent Biruta denied that the party was torn apart.

“Of course some people were not in favour of the decision but the majority were in support, which is what we see as true democracy. In fact, it would be disturbing if 100 per cent of the members voted in favour of the removal of term limits,” Dr Biruta told The EastAfrican.

Mr Biruta, who also serves as the Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, denied that the party was in crisis, noting that the resignation of the MPs has nothing to do with the recent developments.

“What they raised with the party is that they resigned out of personal reasons and it was their right,” he said, adding that the resigning officials are better positioned to give more details.

Efforts to reach Mr Kabahizi, who was elected to EALA in October 2013, were futile, while Mr Bushishi’s phone was switched off by press time.