Diane Rwigara, Adeline Mukangemanyi cleared of all charges

The High Court announced the acquittal of Diane Rwigara and her mother prosecuted for attempting to cause insurrection, forgery and the use of forged documents with charges of incitement to violence for her mother. On November 7, the day of the opening of the trial, five hours were enough for the Rwandan justice to close the hearings. The judges decided not to follow the requisitions of the prosecution, which had asked for the maximum penalty for these charges, i.e 22 years in prison. The verdict marks the end of a legal soap opera that lasted more than a year.

The Rwigara case began in 2017. On May 3rd, Diane Rwigara announced her candidacy as an independent in the presidential election. On 7 July, his candidacy is reported by the Rwandan Electoral Commission (NEC), which alleges the presence of several false signatures on the list she presented.

On August 29, 2017, Rwandan police raided Rwigara’s home, which resulted in the seizure of cash ($130 000), computers and mobile phones. The police then had two motives: the first concerning the alleged falsified signatures in Diane Rwigara’s application, the second relating to suspicions of tax fraud against the family business Premier Tobacco Company, managed at the time by Diane’s sister, Anne Rwigara.

Diane Rwigara, her mother Adeline, and her sister Anne are remanded in custody on September 24th in the 1930 prison. On October 23, charges against Anne Rwigara are dropped.

After more than one year of court proceedings, the judges of the Kigali High Court did not retain the charge of ‘attempt to causing insurrection’ against Diane Rwigara. It was based on comments made at a press conference on July 14, 2017, during which the candidate announced the launch of her political party, the People Salvation Movement.

She then spoke about the death of her father, late businessman Assinapol Rwigara who died in February 2015 in a car accident; a version challenged by the family, which evokes a disguised assassination.

On the other hand, on the charge of ‘forgery and use of forged documents’, the judges considered that, if the forgeries were indeed attested, there was still doubt about Diane Rwigara’s responsibility. The evidence presented to the court by the prosecution, including the results of the Kigali Forensic Laboratory, which analyzed the authenticity of the signatures, does not constitute sufficient evidence to prove Diane Rwigara guilty, the judges ruled.

In particular, the prosecution accused the candidate of having collected the signatures of people who died or who were out of the country among the 600 she submitted to the NEC. Other signatories on this list deny support. For the Court, these testimonies are not enough to prove the responsibility of Diane Rwigara in the falsification of signatures.

During her trial, Diane Rwigara’s defense regretted that ‘none of the people whose signatures were imitated were summoned to the trial. According to Diane Rwigara’s lawyers, the candidate had asked her relays in the area to collect signatures and was therefore not aware of the use of the forgery.

“Why were these people not prosecuted? Asked Pierre-Célestin Buhuru before the verdict. “It’s a trial that could have lasted a year if we had heard all the witnesses,”

Diane’s mother, Adeline Rwigara, was also prosecuted for “inciting violence” and “promoting sectarianism,” charges based on WhatsApp audio messages sent to her sister, Tabitha Mugenzi, among other things. Adeline Rwigara acknowledged that the phones found by the police on which these records appeared, belonged to her. “We believe that incitement to insurrection can’t be retained in this case, as the exchanges in question were not shared with the public, they are private conversations,” explained Gatera Gashabana after the requisitions. An opinion shared by the High Court judges in their verdict.