Rwandan Rwigara family in court for pretrial hearing
Friday October 06 2017
Diane Shima Rwigara, a critic of Rwandan President Paul Kagame, was taken to court Friday for a pre-trial hearing.
The 35-year-old is charged with forging signatures during her presidential campaign. She was disqualified from contesting in the August 4 election won by President Kagame with 98 per cent of the vote.
Ms Rwigara appeared in court alongside her mother Adeline and sister Anne. The three are charged with inciting insurrection. Adeline Rwigara is also charged with discrimination and sectarian practices.
The trio has been in detention for two weeks.
Rwanda police first raided their house in the capital Kigali in August on allegations of tax evasion relating to the family-owned tobacco company.
The family of the late businessman Assinapol Rwigara has been involved in run-ins with the police since.
They are however not facing the tax evasion charges.
In an interview with The EastAfrican, shortly before her arrest,Ms Rwigara denied all the charges claiming that her family was being “persecuted for criticising the government”.