Rwandan authorities have arrested prominent opposition figure Victoire Ingabire on charges of inciting public disorder and creating a criminal organization, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) announced late Thursday. She is currently being held at a detention facility in the capital, Kigali.
Ingabire, who leads the unregistered DALFA–Umurinzi opposition party, was previously imprisoned in 2012 after being convicted of conspiring to form an armed group and denying the 1994 genocide. She served six years of a 15-year sentence before receiving a presidential pardon in 2018.
The RIB statement alleges that Ingabire “played a role in creating a criminal organisation and engaged in acts that incite public disorder.” However, it did not specify when she would appear in court.
Ingabire returned from exile in the Netherlands in 2010 to run for president but was barred from contesting the election due to accusations of genocide denial.
President Paul Kagame, who has ruled Rwanda for over 25 years, was re-elected last year with 99.18% of the vote, according to official figures. While widely credited with rebuilding Rwanda’s economy after the 1994 genocide, Kagame has faced persistent criticism for alleged human rights violations and support for rebel groups in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.