The president of Rwanda's upper house resigned Wednesday citing personal reasons.
The president of Rwanda's upper house resigned Wednesday citing personal reasons, but following a petition from colleagues to discuss how he ran the Senate, reports said. Jean-Damascene Ntawukuliryayo resigned as Senate president, a post he had occupied since 2011, but he remains a senator.
A former presidential candidate, the 53-year old is a member of Rwanda's second-largest political party, the Social Democratic Party (PSD), a member of the ruling coalition.
Kigali's New Times newspaper reported his resignation followed a "petition from 15 senators calling for an extraordinary session to discuss how Ntawukuliryayo exercised his duties as Senate president." No other details were given.
Rwanda has shown dramatic economic successes in recent years, with its GDP per capita growing five-fold in the past two decades, according to the World Bank.
But critics accuses the country's authoritarian rulers of suppressing dissent.