Brussels, June 20, 2025 – The sudden arrest of Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza in Kigali during the night of June 19–20 has sparked a wave of outrage among Rwanda’s political opposition and diaspora. Two statements—one from Jambo ASBL, a youth-led organisation in exile, and the other from FDU-Inkingi, the party Ingabire founded—denounce what they describe as an arbitrary arrest and a sign of growing political repression in Rwanda.
According to Jambo ASBL, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) accuses Victoire Ingabire of participating in a “criminal association” and allegedly “inciting insurrection or disturbing public order”—a charge described as vague and clearly political, aimed at silencing one of the country’s most prominent peaceful opposition figures.
Victoire Ingabire has long been at the centre of tensions between the Rwandan government and its critics. She returned voluntarily to Rwanda in January 2010 to take part in the country’s democratic reconstruction, but was arrested a few months later and sentenced to 15 years in prison in a trial widely criticised for its irregularities. In 2017, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights ruled that her fundamental rights had been violated and ordered the Rwandan government to compensate her.
Though she was released in 2018 under a presidential pardon, just before a Francophonie Summit, Ingabire remained under tight surveillance. Jambo ASBL recalls that only days after her release, President Paul Kagame made a public speech threatening to imprison her again. Since then, several of her associates have been imprisoned, forcibly disappeared, or assassinated.
After her release, Ingabire continued her political activism through a new party, DALFA-Umurinzi, navigating an environment still marked by repression and threats. October 2025 was expected to mark the official end of her 15-year sentence, along with the lifting of all restrictions stemming from her early release. Both Jambo ASBL and FDU-Inkingi interpret this new arrest as a strategic move to prevent her from regaining her full civil and political rights.
The FDU-Inkingi, the opposition party she founded in 2006 and led until 2019, condemned the arrest in strong terms. The party’s current president, Placide Kayumba, denounced the charges of “incitement to insurrection” as baseless and politically motivated. In its statement, the party also noted that the arrest took place on World Refugee Day, sending what it called a “chilling message” to the hundreds of thousands of Rwandans who fled the country out of fear of persecution.
The FDU-Inkingi demands the immediate and unconditional release of Victoire Ingabire and is calling for international mobilisation. The party has announced it will appeal to global and regional human rights institutions, including the United Nations, the African Union, and the European Parliament.
Both Jambo ASBL and FDU-Inkingi emphasise that for more than a decade, Victoire Ingabire has embodied the hope of a peaceful and pluralistic Rwanda—one that respects human rights and allows for political dissent. Her re-arrest, only months before the official end of her sentence, sends a stark warning about the closing of political space in the country.
The international community is now being urged to act. The statements point to a clear question: how long will Rwanda’s allies and donors remain silent in the face of mounting authoritarianism and politically motivated repression?
Therwandan
