Exlicit images of presidential candidate leaked
Publish date: 22 May 2017
Issue Number: 726
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Rwanda
Diane Rwigara’s presidential aspirations have taken a hit after explicit images of her were posted online. Just days after declaring her interest in challenging President Paul Kagame, her plans to become the first female independent candidate may have backfired. A report on the Africa News site notes that the origin and authenticity of the images cannot be ascertained, but they have been widely shared on blogs and websites. A Daily Maverick analysis notes that the politically fraught nature of political dissent in Rwanda is what makes Rwigara such an admirable activist. ‘She has done what so many others in the country want to do, but out of a legitimate fear for their and their family’s lives and safety, find themselves suffering in silence in order to preserve the status quo and their precarious safety. Activists like Rwigara wonder why a post-genocide developmental approach cannot include democratic reform, freedom of speech and the formation of political opposition. In fact, asserting that Rwanda ought to proceed as things currently stand is to adopt a condescending attitude to the nation’s development. Post-genocide advances need not come in the form of a zero sum game; Rwandans are quite capable of achieving both economic and human rights gains at the same time. This type of logic, which constantly compares the present to one of the worst human catastrophes of the 20th century, sets the bar exceedingly low and is used to excuse the Rwandan Patriotic Front’s governance strategies.' As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, her late father bankrolled the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front in the 1990s.
