Ms. Rwigara during a press conference on Tuesday
The National Commission for the fight against Genocide (CNLG) has dismissed allegations by self-styled opposition politician Diane Rwigara purporting that genocide survivors continue to be killed under unclear circumstances as fabrications, utter lies and an attempt to trivialize the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Ms Rwigara, who attempted to run in the 2017 Presidential elections but was disqualified on grounds of forgery and falsification of signatures, told a press conference on Tuesday that many genocide survivors continue to lose their lives at an alarming rate in an open letter addressed to President Paul Kagame.
CNLG, which is also copied in the letter, said that the allegations made by Ms Rwigara are unfounded and can tantamount to trivialization or denial of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, a crime which is punishable by the law.
“What the Government of Rwanda under the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF-Inkotanyi) has done to restore the lives of genocide survivors and give them hope is clear for all to see. Even the visually impaired or those corrupted by ethnic hate can testify,” said Dr Jean Damascene Bizimana, the Executive Secretary of CNLG.
“Genocide survivors have been categorical in thanking the government for what it has done in their lives for the last 25 years, from affording them good healthcare, education, shelter and their general welfare. Genocide survivors do not need Diane Rwigara’s lies or any advocacy for that matter, from people who reason like her,” he added.
Ms Rwigara said she was prompted to write the letter to the President after the death of a prison guard known as Jean-Paul Mwiseneza alias Nyamata, on June 10, who she claims is a genocide survivor.
She, however, could not provide any evidence of her claims against official counts.
Ms Rwigara claims that the government seems more interested in preserving the memory of the dead but not concerned by the plight of the survivors, a statement Dr. Bizimana says is equivalent to denial or trivialization of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
Dr Bizimana said that Ms Rwigara’s statements are unfounded and dangerous because they contain lies and fabrications which can’t be backed by evidence.
“There is denial in her statements because under the 2013 law punishing the crime of genocide ideology and other related crimes which was amended in 2018, spreading falsehoods and unfounded allegations on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and disparaging facts to mislead the public is tantamount to denial,”
“From her statements, she is not only trivializing the genocide, but she is also engaged in defamatory acts which are punishable by the law,” Dr Bizimana said.
Dr Bizimana said that if Ms Rwigara wants to contribute to the wellbeing of Rwandans and wishes them well, she should abandon her wrong approach of doing things and hiding behind genocide survivors to advance her agenda.
He said that the government has been keenly committed to ensuring the wellbeing of Genocide survivors through different programmes and that anyone who alleges that their plight hangs in balance is a liar and an antagonist.
