Diane Rwigara

Diane Shima Rwigara (born 1981) is a Rwandan businesswoman and accountant who stood as an independent candidate in the 2017 Rwandan presidential election. Rwigara was charged on 23 September 2017, alongside her mother and four other defendants, with "inciting insurrection" among other counts, but was acquitted along with her mother on 6 December 2018.

She attempted to run for president in 2024 but her candidacy was rejected, on the ostensible basis of forged signatures.

Early life Diane Rwigara was born in Kigali in 1981 to an affluent Tutsi family and has three siblings. Her father, Assinapol Rwigara, an industrialist and a key financier of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), was killed in a car collision on 4 February 2015 in Gacuriro, Kigali. Her family believes the accident was politically motivated murder.

Career Rwigara was a trained accountant. She has repeatedly spoken out against the country's governance under President Paul Kagame and about injustice and oppression.

On 3 May 2017, Rwigara announced her intention to run in the presidential election. 72 hours later, faked nude photos of her appeared in an apparent attempt at humiliation and intimidation. She said that the pictures were 'the regime's attempt to discredit me and taint my public reputation," and added that Rwandan authorities had not condemned the act.

On 7 July 2017, the National Electoral Commission disqualified Rwigara from the election on technical grounds, alleging she had used forged signatures in her presidential bid and had submitted only 572 valid signatures rather than the required 600. Rwigara said she submitted 958 signatures, with an additional 120 after some were disqualified. Two other candidates were also disqualified, prompting Amnesty International to say that the election would be held in a "climate of fear and repression." The decision was also criticised by the US State Department and the European Union. Kagame won the 4 August election with 98% of the vote. The People Salvation Movement, according to Rwigara, will continue her work of sensitising Rwandans about their rights, and criticising policies and actions of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front party.

On June 7, 2024, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) rejected the candidacy of Diane Rwigara for the 2024 presidential election.

Arrest On 30 August 2017, Rwigara's home was raided, with police saying she was being investigated for forgery and tax evasion.

Numerous news outlets reported in September 2017 that Rwigara still could not be reached and that her family continued to claim she is missing. Leon Orsmond, a South African freelance advertising creative, who had helped Rwigara with her social media campaign was also missing in Rwanda since February 2018. Before his disappearance, Orsmond made no secret that he didn't like the government of Kagame.

In June 2018, the Rwanda Revenue Authority sold machinery from the family's tobacco business for almost $2m in a bid to recover what they claimed was $7m in tax arrears. A previous auction of Rwigara's family business assets - of processed tobacco - netted more than 500m Rwandan francs.

On 5 October 2018, a court ordered a release of Rwigara and her mother, Adeline Rwigara, on bail; this came a few weeks after the early release of 2,140 convicts, including Victoire Ingabire and Kizito Mihigo. After more than one year in prison, Rwanda's High Court finally released Rwigara and her mother, Adeline, on bail. They were told not to leave the capital, Kigali, without permission, and their trial would continue.

Several members of the United States Congress, including Dick Durbin, Ann Wagner, Patrick Leahy and Barbara Lee, as well as members of the congressional Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission called on the Rwandan government to drop the charges as violations freedom of expression. Rwandan officials accused the US politicians of meddling in their judicial procedures. Rwigara addressed the media inside the courtroom, saying,"I hope this means that the persecution I and my family have faced is over and that I have the liberty to speak my mind. That is what I will continue to fight for across the country." On 9 January 2019, Kagame's prosecution authority, having been instructed by the Ministry of Justice, withdrew its appeal against their acquittal. Rwigara welcomed the decisions, saying she would "continue to fight for freedom of expression and human rights in Rwanda."