A Rwandan court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by a prominent opposition party to have his criminal record annulled and disqualified from challenging President Paul Kagame in July elections.
a A Rwandan court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by a prominent opposition party to have his criminal record annulled and disqualified from challenging President Paul Kagame in July elections.
Bernard Ntaganda, a fierce critic of Rwanda's iron-fisted ruler, petitioned the Kigali High Court in February to quash his conviction from more than a decade ago.
He becomes the second opposition lawmaker to be blocked from running in the July 15 election against Kagame.
A three-judge panel ruled against Ntaganda for failing to pay approximately 106,000 Rwandan francs (approximately $82) in legal fees related to a previous case against him. “The High Court found that Ntaganda did not comply with the law requiring individuals to have their convictions lifted and therefore dismissed his appeal.”
Mr Ntaganda, a lawyer and founder of the PS Imberakuri party, said the court's decision was “not a surprising result”, although there was evidence of costs being paid.
“The dominant RPF is [Rwandan Patriotic Front] “We cannot recognize the independence of the courts,” he said.
Ntaganda had also planned to run against Kagame in 2010, but was arrested before the vote. He was released in 2014 after serving a four-year prison sentence for endangering national security and inciting ethnic divisions.
Rwandan law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime and sentenced to six months or more in prison from holding public office.
In March, a court also refused to revoke the criminal record of Kagame's staunch rival, Victoire Ingabire, disqualifying her from running in July.
Kagame has led Rwanda since the 1994 genocide and officially became president of a transitional government in 2000. Since then, he has won elections in 2003, 2010 and 2017, all with more than 90% of the vote.
He led a controversial constitutional amendment in 2015 that shortened presidential terms from seven to five years after the 2024 vote, but allowed him to run for two more terms and keep him in power until 2034. There was a possibility that it would.
Last week, another Kagame critic, Diane Riwigara, announced she would run this year after being barred from the 2017 campaign over accusations that she forged supporters' signatures on applications. She was arrested, charged with forgery and inciting rebellion, and held for more than a year.
Two others entered the ring this year: Green Party member Frank Habineza and independent candidate Philip Mpaimana.
Kagame has been praised for putting post-genocide Rwanda on a path to economic transformation, but has faced frequent criticism over rights abuses and crackdowns on opposition and free speech.
Rwanda will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on July 15th. —AFP
