Rwanda arrests opposition leader Ingabire, says investigative body
Rwanda has arrested prominent opposition leader Victoire Ingabire, who is being held at a detention facility in the capital Kigali on charges of inciting the public and creating a criminal organization, a state investigative agency said. Sean Hogan reports.
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘We won't let them get away with this': activists to sue Tanzania's government over ‘sexual torture'
Two east African activists say they plan to sue Tanzania's government for illegal detention and torture over their treatment during a visit in support of an opposition politician in May. Boniface Mwangi, from Kenya, and Agather Atuhaire, a Ugandan, sent shock waves around the region earlier this month when they gave an emotional press conference in which they alleged they had been sexually assaulted and, in Atuhaire's case, smeared in excrement after their detention in Dar es Salaam. '[The authorities] take you through sexual torture,' Mwangi said at the time. Even in a region accustomed to recurrent rights abuses, the apparent targeting of foreigners by the Tanzanian authorities marked a new and worrying turn in a crackdown on critics and opponents of the president, Samia Suluhu Hassan. In interviews with the Guardian, Mwangi and Atuhaire said they planned to initiate cases in a Tanzanian court as well as through regional and international avenues, including the east African court of justice and the African court on human and peoples' rights. 'We're not going to let them get away with this,' said Mwangi, a well-known Kenyan photojournalist and activist. Atuhaire, a lawyer, journalist and critic of the government of the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, said: 'We need to hold these guys accountable to know that they cannot violate people unprovoked like that.' Mwangi and Atuhaire, who had travelled to Tanzania to attend a court hearing for a treason case against the opposition politician Tundu Lissu on 19 May, say they were taken from their hotel by people they described as security officials, illegally detained and verbally and physically abused. Mwangi said his beating started at an immigration office that afternoon when a security official slapped and punched him repeatedly in the presence of Atuhaire and three lawyers. He said he was assaulted again at a police station, where security personnel accused the activists of having travelled to Tanzania to disrupt peace and ruin the country. 'The real torture,' Mwangi said, happened that evening when a group of about seven men – whom he described as having bloodshot eyes and smelling of alcohol – and a woman handcuffed and blindfolded him and Atuhaire and drove them to a compound. Both activists said that at the compound they were ordered to strip and were suspended upside down then hit with wooden planks on their soles. They said their attackers stifled their screams by stuffing Mwangi's underwear into his mouth and putting some cloth in Atuhaire's mouth. The activists said their attackers inserted what seemed to be their hands or other objects into their rectums and smeared excrement on Atuhaire's body, then photographed them and told them not to reveal what had happened. Two days later they were dumped at their countries' borders. 'I didn't see us coming out of there alive,' said Atuhaire. 'It was really, really painful.' Mwangi said: 'Nothing in my mind or in my life prepared me for this. I've been injured before, I've been beaten before, I've been shot before. My house has been bombed. I've seen all kind of extremities and cruelties, but I've never felt such kind of pain.' The Guardian has approached a Tanzanian police spokesperson for comment. Last week Tanzania's representative to the UN, Abdallah Possi, told a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva: 'Although these claims against the government are highly doubtful, we take the allegations of torture, sexual abuse and malpractices very seriously. That is why the government is currently investigating and, if established, those concerned will be held accountable.' A series of killings, kidnappings, arrests and tortures over the past year have prompted widespread condemnation locally and internationally. Among those killed was Mohamed Ali Kibao, a member of the secretariat of the main opposition party Chadema, who was found beaten and with his face doused with acid in September. In April, Father Charles Kitima, a Catholic priest who is vocal on democratic reforms and rights issues, was brutally attacked near his residence. Earlier this month, the government deregistered a church belonging to Josephat Gwajima, a politician from the ruling party, after he called out illegal detentions and enforced disappearances and announced a prayer campaign to seek divine intervention for Hassan and other national leaders. And last week two men who posted talkshows about democracy and governance on YouTube were arrested for 'improper use of social media'. There is no evidence of Hassan's personal involvement in the incidents, many of which the government has condemned. Nevertheless, opposition politicians and rights campaigners say her administration is overseeing a return to the fear-based tactics of her predecessor, John Magufuli. Earlier this month she warned activists from neighbouring countries against 'trying to destabilise' Tanzania. Maria Sarungi Tsehai, a Tanzanian rights activist, described the targeting of non-Tanzanians as unprecedented and a 'sign of huge panic' on the part of the Hassan administration in the run-up to her first presidential electoral test. 'What we're seeing is a very insecure presidential candidate,' said Tsehai, who lives in self-exile in Nairobi. 'She has to lean more heavily on that security apparatus. And she has decided that she doesn't want to have any free or fair election. She just wants to get her second term. And that decision comes at a very heavy price.' Last year, Tsehai was abducted from the streets of the Kenyan capital by armed men and feared she would become the latest victim of a spate of enforced deportations from Kenya. However, she was released a short time later without crossing the border after news of her kidnapping spread quickly on social media. In the months after Hassan took office following Magufuli's death in 2021, the president gained domestic and international approval for reconciling with the opposition and reversing some of Magufuli's repressive policies. But since then a wave of repression has wiped out hopes of lasting reform. Hassan's CCM party has ruled the country since independence. The opposition and civil society have long called for reform of the constitution, which critics say grants the president and the ruling party excessive powers. Earlier this year, Lissu was arrested and charged with treason and cybercrime offences, and his Chadema party – which had called for a boycott of this year's elections unless electoral reforms were enacted – was disqualified from participating. Mwangi said CCM was acting for self-preservation. 'What Suluhu is trying to do is win an election by any means necessary,' he said. 'She's reading from a dictator's manual [that says] 'brutalise and beat people into submission'.' Atuhaire – whose work in exposing corruption won her an international women of courage award from the US last year – said her and Mwangi's experience showed the 'level of impunity' in Tanzania. The activists are still nursing injuries on their feet and other parts of their bodies, in addition to having psychological trauma. They said they had decided to speak about their alleged abuse to shine a light on the plight of Tanzanians who had gone through similar experiences. 'There's no level of shame or stigma that is more important than pursuing justice,' Atuhaire said. 'Justice is the driving factor – these people must be held accountable for what they did to us, for what they have done to Tanzanians.'
BBC News
15 hours ago
- BBC News
Scepticism in Goma over peace deal between DR Congo and Rwanda
The signing of a peace agreement between the governments of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in Washington has elicited mixed reactions, with the former Congolese president, Joseph Kabila, describing it as "nothing more than a trade agreement".The deal signed on Friday demanded the "disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration" of armed groups fighting in eastern DR Congo - but offered few other details. While some, including Kabila, have been critical, others have hailed the agreement as a turning point in a devastating conflict that has dragged on for has denied allegations it backs an armed group, known as M23, which has been fighting in the eastern DR Congo. The conflict escalated earlier this year when M23 rebels seized control of large parts of eastern DR Congo, including the regional capital, Goma, the city of Bukavu and two of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of civilians forced from their homes following the recent rebel the loss of territory, DR Congo's government turned to the US for help, reportedly offering access to critical minerals in exchange for security guarantees. Eastern DR Congo is rich in coltan and other resources vital to the global electronics the fighting in DR Congo all about?Ceasefire deal still faces many challengesIn a post on X following the signing of the agreement on Friday, Kabila questioned the choice of the deal's participants, saying the DR Congo was not at war with the states depicted in a photo of the signing, which included President Donald Trump and other US officials, as well as Rwanda's foreign is not entirely clear if his comments were an indirect criticism of the absence of M23 representatives in Washington."We must stop distorting the facts to disguise a propaganda agenda," Kabila said, adding "Congolese people deserve the truth, not a diplomatic show".The absence of M23 representatives was also noted in the rebel-held city of Goma in eastern DR Congo. "How can they say they sign for peace, yet they have not involved M23?" a resident questioned, adding the rebels ought to have been included in the talks for "collective peace" to be resident, a commercial motorbike rider told the BBC "people are tired, they are not interested in talks", insisting "all they want is peace".He argued previous peace talks and agreements were not endorsed or implemented by the conflicting parties, leaving little hope for a return to Sam Zarifi, executive director at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), an international NGO that has worked in the DRC for more than a decade, said the Washington-brokered agreement is replete with "major omissions"."There can be no durable peace without meaningful justice. But the human rights and fails survivors," Mr Zarifi added: "The agreement overlooks how hostilities can continue through proxy armed groups that our research has shown are responsible for serious violations."Stephanie Marungu, head of a humanitarian organisation in Goma, was more positive. "The signing of the deal…is a momentous and hopeful development for the eastern region," she told the BBC, adding it could "lead to increased stability and it's going to make it easier for us to deliver aid and access those in need". However, she acknowledges there may be challenges in implementing the deal."If the agreement is what will bring peace we have no problems," another Goma resident remains to be seen what the situation on the ground will be going forward, with concerns the Washington deal may simply enrich a few people with the country's mineral resources to the detriment of ordinary people.
Telegraph
17 hours ago
- Telegraph
DRC and Rwanda sign peace deal in Washington
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed a peace deal Friday aimed at ending decades of deadly conflict – a move which Donald Trump has claimed credit for. The two countries pledged to pull back support for guerrillas, with the US-brokered deal demanding the 'disengagement, disarmament and conditional integration' of armed groups fighting in eastern Congo. The US president, flanked by JD Vance, the US's vice-president, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, said that the peace treaty was 'a glorious triumph'. 'Today, the violence and destruction comes to an end, and the entire region begins a new chapter of hope and opportunity,' Mr Trump said as he welcomed the two nations' foreign ministers to the White House. 'This is a wonderful day.' The deal comes after the M23, a Tutsi rebel force linked to Rwanda, raced across the mineral-rich east of the DRC this year, seizing vast amounts of territory, including the regional capital Goma, the city of Bukavu and two airports. Thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee following the offensive. However, the agreement does not explicitly address the gains of the M23 in the area torn by decades of on-off war, instead calling for Rwanda to end the 'defensive measures' it has taken. Rwanda denies supporting the M23 despite overwhelming evidence. Previous peace deals in the region have failed and crucial questions also remain unanswered. They include whether the M23 will withdraw from the areas they have seized, if Rwanda admits having troops in eastern DRC and withdraws them, and if thousands of Congolese people will be allowed back from Rwanda. Experts have also stressed that while the deal could mark a turning point in the long-standing conflict between M23 rebels and Congolese forces in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu, large parts of the country remain plagued by violence and instability. In Ituri, a province in the north-west of the country, a patchwork of armed groups made up of varying ethnic groups continues to clash over territory and resources. Both Uganda and Rwanda have been accused of involvement in the conflict, which has displaced more than 100,000 people since the beginning of 2025, according to the UN. 'We hope that this deal could bring lasting peace to the DRC and spread beyond just North and South Kivu, but we know it will take time,' Dr John Agbor, the UNICEF representative for the DRC told The Telegraph. 'We've seen a huge increase in grave violations against children in the last year [...] rates of recruitment and use of children as soldiers, sexual violence, maiming, and killing. And it's not only North and South Kivu, this is across all of the DRC. 'There are six provinces in active conflict in the DRC, until peace is brought everywhere only then can we bring real and impactful difference to the lives of children,' Dr Agbor added. While the US president admitted that he 'didn't know too much about' the conflict and that it was 'a little out of my league', he added that the United States will be able to secure ' a lot of mineral rights from the Congo '. The DRC has enormous mineral reserves that include lithium and cobalt, vital in electric vehicles and other advanced technologies. The deal had been negotiated through Qatar since before Mr Trump took office, but the US president also started his White House event by mentioning a journalist who said he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. The US president is widely believed to want to win the award, and has frequently criticised its awarding to his predecessor Barack Obama. Last week – before the US bombed Iran and later negotiated a ceasefire – Mr Trump unleashed his frustration on that front. 'No, I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that's all that matters to me!' he wrote on Truth Social. The new agreement drew wide, but not universal, praise. Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, called the deal 'a significant step towards de-escalation, peace and stability'. Germany hailed the 'excellent news', and Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, praised the 'historic step forward'. However others – including Denis Mukwege, a gynaecologist who received the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end the DRC's epidemic of sexual violence in war – also criticised the agreement, saying it effectively benefits Rwanda and the United States. The deal 'would amount to granting a reward for aggression, legitimising the plundering of Congolese natural resources, and forcing the victim to alienate their national heritage by sacrificing justice in order to ensure a precarious and fragile peace,' Mr Mukwege said.
