Rwanda Attacks ExPat Dissidents’ Families Still In Country

TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

WaPo has horrifying reporting today about how the African nation of Rwanda has been attacking in-country family members of the Rwandan dissidents living abroad.

The article starts with the story of former radio journalist Cassien Ntamuhanga who escaped imprisonment in Rwanda and fled abroad. Ntamuhanga has been vocal in his condemnation of the Rwandan government since leaving. But his family still in Rwanda has faced unimaginable consequences: a murdered cousin, a tortured brother, an uncle and cousin arrested and imprisoned, another relative jailed and separated from her baby for months.

WaPo describes the above as “by no means exceptional,” citing interviews with “four dozen Rwandans in 12 countries, including many whose relatives have experienced a similar fate.”

The goals of the Rwandan government are clear. As WaPo notes:

By threatening and rounding up family members, Rwandan authorities can retaliate against critics and deter prospective dissidents from raising their voices. But perhaps more than anything, these practices can curb the activism of Rwandans who have fled, even as far afield as the United States and Australia.

-KitJ