By John Ikani
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called out Rwanda’s government for “harassing, threatening or prosecuting dozens of people for holding critical opinions against the administration of President Paul Kagame.”
The US based group in a report on Wednesday titled — Rwanda: Wave of Free Speech Prosecutions, demanded the urgent release of activists, journalist and opposition leaders arrested in Rwanda.
While acknowledging that hateful and dangerous speech broadcast which permeated the media in 1994 played a key role in inciting the Rwandan genocide, the HRW stressed that censoring speech, restricting journalists, bloggers and YouTube commentators from exercising their freedom of speech in the 21st century was a step too far in the wrong direction.
The rights group said while it recognises the government’s concern about speech leading to violence, what it sees in the country is the complete banning of debates, opinions, and criticism of government policies.
HRW highlighted the case of popular YouTuber Dieudonne Niyonsenga, also known as Cyuma Hassan. His Ishema TV channel, followed by more than 15 million viewers, ran reports on critical issues from human rights abuses to corruption.
Last November, Niyonsenga was convicted on appeal to seven years in prison on charges of forgery, impersonating journalists, and hindering public works for being outside during lockdown without valid press accreditation.
The Rwandan judiciary ruled that by presenting himself as a journalist without accreditation, Niyonsenga misled the public and committed a crime of forgery.
The YouTuber was also initially charged for “humiliations of national authorities” – a charge no longer a criminal offence in Rwanda since 2018, which was later dropped.
The rights group also stressed that “requirements for journalists to register are rarely, if ever justifiable, and in a context of repression like Rwanda, they are used politically to curtail speech”.
As of March 9, TV Ishema was no longer in operation, HRW reported.
HRW also accused the justice system of abusing its power against opposition leaders.
One, Victoire Ingabire, was released from jail by presidential pardon in 2018 while serving a 15-year sentence for “genocide denial” and “conspiracy against the government through terrorism” – charges she has always denied.
Since October 2021, at least eight members of her party have been arrested on charges ranging from spreading rumours, forming criminal associations and inciting insurrection
The Rwandan government, led by President Paul Kagame, has not responded to the report.
As the country gears up to host the Commonwealth meeting in June, HRW hopes its report will bring awareness to the reported free speech crackdown in the country.
