The media fraternity in Rwanda has been rocked by yet another arrest of a journalist on suspicion of publishing content with the aim of creating and inciting ethnic divisions.

Stanley Gatera, the managing editor of the tabloid Umusingi was arrested by police on Wednesday after what police said were complaints filed by the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide (CNLG) and women’s rights non-governmental organisation ProFemme Twese Hamwe.

Mr Gatera is the brother of exiled journalist Nelson Gatsimbanzi, currently living in the United Kingdom.

According to the police spokesperson Supt Theos Badege, Gatera’s arrest is in relation to an article published in Umusingi issue 71 dated June 25-July 5, 2012.

The story titled “Impamvu abagabo bahura n’ibibazo kubera gukurikira ubwiza bwabakobwa bitwaga Abatutsi,” which loosely translates “Marriage failures are a result of men falling for beautiful Tutsi women”, is reported to have angered women rights organisations.

“Rwanda National Police began investigations after the National Commission for the Fight against Genocide filed a complaint demanding an inquiry into the possibility that the story, which was published on page 14, carried discriminatory and sectarianism sentiments.

“Police also registered complaints from women’s groups such as ProFemme and the gender monitoring office demanding a rebuttal,” said Supt Badege.

A statement issued by ProFemme claims that the article “undermines the status of women in society and portrays all women as ‘easy going’ or ‘sex objects’.”

However, prior to the arrest, Mr Gatera explained that the article was authored by a contributor.

His newspaper published an article in issue 74 of July 20 - July 28 denying any wrong doing, adding that the objective of the story was lost in translation.

“It was the responsibility of the newspaper to publish the article but this does not make the publication responsible for the opinions or views expressed in the commentary. Besides, the author had given examples to support his views,” Mr Gatera told Rwanda Today before his arrest.

According to the police, Mr Gatera is currently being detained at the Kicukiro Police Station as investigations continue. If found guilty, he will be charged with discrimination and sectarianism according to article 136 of the penal code, which carries an at least two and a half years jail term.

The arrest of Mr Gatera came a few days after Gasabo Primary Court granted bail to Idriss Gasana Byiringiro, a journalist with The Chronicle newspaper who is facing charges of providing false information to law enforcement organs regarding his alleged kidnap.

In a dramatic turn of events, Mr Byiringiro, a third year journalism student at the National University of Rwanda, told the court that he had “been coerced by police” to tell the press that he had lied about being kidnapped.

“I was actually kidnapped,” the 23-year old told the court, stating that what he said two weeks ago that he had “faked his own kidnap” was said under duress. Nevertheless he was charged with the same offence -— faking his own kidnap and lying to the authorities about it.

It had been reported that Mr Byiringiro had faked his abduction as part of a research, but on Monday when he appeared in court, he reaffirmed his first position of being kidnapped by four unknown men suspected to be security agents.

The journalist was granted bail on strict conditions, which include reporting to court every Friday before midday, with any movement outside Kigali restricted despite being a student of the Butare-based university. Mr Byiringiro will have to seek permission to travel from the prosecutor’s office.

His employer at The Chronicles, Dr Christopher Kayumba, stood surety for him. Efforts by Rwanda Today to reach Dr Kayumba were futile as he did not answer our calls.

Mr Kayumba was also summoned by the CID last week and had his two mobile phones confiscated for about 12 hours as part of the investigations. Efforts to contact Byiringiro were also futile as his mobile phone war switched off.

Also in the same week, a court in the Southern Province district of Muhanga cleared a radio journalist Epaphrodite Habarugira of any wrongdoing in a case in which he was charged with trivialising and minimising the 1994 genocide under the country’s strict anti-genocide laws.

Mr Habarugira was detained in March after he mistakenly during a news bulletin referred to “genocide survivors” as “genocide victims” in what he said was a “slip of the tongue” resulting from fatigue.

The court cleared him after it found that there was insufficient evidence to implicate Mr Habarugira who works for a community-based radio known as Huguka.

The recent media arrest have provoked condemnation from media and press freedoms watchdogs, including Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), calling upon the government of Rwanda to halt the crackdown on the independent press.

“We are relieved at this verdict,” Reporters Without Borders said after the release of Mr Habarugira.

“However, the fact of the matter is that Habarugira Epaphrodite has spent three months in prison for no reason. The justice authorities have blown a simple on-air slip of the tongue out of proportion. We hope that the journalist can quickly find work and that this incident will not harm his career,” a statement from the Paris-based watchdog says.

In the case of The Chronicle journalist, the media rights group accused police of reacting “overzealously,” asking the government to let the journalist out of custody and allow him to continue with his studies.

Rwanda has over the past decade come under fire from press freedom groups accusing it of curtailing free speech using the stringent laws against genocide and genocide ideology.

Kigali has maintained that it will not allow the media to plunge the country back into ethnic politics.