Rwanda: Green Party has filed a Lawsuit to the Supreme Court Regarding the non-Respect of French Language

The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda has today, the 8th of December 2014, filed a lawsuit to the Supreme Court, regarding the non-respect of French language, as stipulated in Article 5 of the Rwandan Constitution.

Article five of the constitution stipulates that Rwanda uses three official languages: Kinyarwanda, French and English, however, many Government institutions such as the National Bank of Rwanda, Rwanda Revenue Authority, National ID Project and many others, have opted to either use English alone or with Kinyarwanda, and deliberately left out French, yet, majority of Rwandans use French Language.

DGPR finds this behaviour a hindrance to the national unity and reconciliation process, since it leaves many people unhappy and unable to achieve their legal rights as stipulated in Article 16 of the Rwandan Constitution, which states that:   ‘All human beings are equal before the law. They shall enjoy, without any discrimination, equal protection of the Law’.

The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda believes that Rwanda’s Supreme Court, which also constitutes itself into the Constitutional Court, will take a serious consideration of this law-suit and take a decision which will protect the Rwandan Constitution.

The Democratic Green Party of Rwanda was officially launched on 14th August 2009 as an opposition party. It got official registration on 9th August 2013 and accepted as a member of the National Consultative Forum of Political Organisations in Rwanda on 3rd April 2014.

DGPR’s Status were published in the official gazette of the Republic of Rwanda on 4th August 2014.

 

Done at Kigali on 8th  December 2014

Dr.Frank Habineza

 President, Democratic Green Party of Rwanda