A court in Rwanda on Monday postponed the trial of a critic of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. Diane Rwigara and her mother are facing charges of inciting insurrection.
She has already spent a year in prison also facing charges of forgery. Rwigara was arrested shortly after declaring her intention to run for President.
Her documents were scrutinized last year when she decided to challenge Paul Kagame for the top job. She was declared unfit to run.
Rwigara was arrested for non payment of taxes from her family tobacco business. The Revenue Authority said the unpaid taxes amount to $7million.
Her assets were auctioned this year by the country’s authorities. The amount raised from the auctioned assets was to settle unpaid taxes.
The auctioned property raised almost $2m which is to settle part of the tax arrears officials said she owes.
On Monday her lawyers said they believe one of the trial judges must be removed. The said judge is accused of bias for her involvement in pre-trial detention hearings.
The trial of Diane Rwigara & her mother Adeline Rwigara was on Monday suspended by the High Court after the lawyers of the duo applied for the removal of one of the judges from the panel of three High Court Judges because she was involved in the pre-trial detention hearing. pic.twitter.com/HFRNnmHMjY
— Rwanda Today (@RwandaToday) September 24, 2018
Who is Rwigara?
Rwigara is a 35-year-old accountant. She had accused President Kagame of stifling dissent and holding on to power.
Her accusation came up shortly before she declared her intention to contest the presidential election which President Kagame won.
Her father died in a car accident in 2015 that her family maintains was politically motivated. Rwigara has always maintained that accusations against her are baseless.
