KIGALI - Rwanda: Sources in Kigali tell AfroAmerica Network that  a new twist was introduced in the trial against the Rwandan politician and presidential candidate Ms. Victor Ingabire. The trial is currently focusing on the association of the accused with the renowned humanitarian Paul Rusesabagina, whose life was portrayed in the movie “Hotel Rwanda”, featuring the actor Don Cheadle.

    A drama unfolded when two former Rwandan rebels of the Democratic Forces of  Liberation of Rwanda, known as FDLR,  were paraded in front of the court. The FDLR have been roaming the jungles of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for more than a decade. Their stated goal is to topple the regime of the Rwandan dictator General Paul Kagame.

    The two former Rwandan Hutu rebels, Lt. Col Tharcisse Nditurende and Lt. Col Noel Habiyambere, deserted the FDLR in 2007 and 2008, were arrested in Burundi in 2009,  and extradited to Rwanda. They have been in Rwandan detention centers since then and, like hundreds of thousand of imprisoned ethnic Hutus , accused of crimes and genocidal ideology by the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) regime dominated by the Tutsi ethnic minority.

    The Rwandan courts, mostly run by RPF, apparently seeking to pin down the opposition were visibly using the two former rebels to justify the charges against Ms. Ingabire. The charges include: genocide denial, genocidal ideology, and collaboration with a “terrorist” group, i.e, the FDLR.

A new twist was introduced in the case when the two prosecutor’s star witnesses admitted having planned to set up an armed opposition coalition known as CDF. They told the court that they met with  Mr. Paul Rusesabagina, Mr. Jean Mberabahizi, and Ms. Ingabire in Kinshasa to create the new rebel group. They also alleged that Mr. Paul Rusesabagina and Ms. Ingabire have been transferring money to them for recruiting troops and mobilizing their former comrades of the FDLR to desert and form the  CDF, a coalition between FDU led by Ms. Ingabire and PDR-Ihumure, led by Mr. Paul Rusesabagina.  Jean Mberabahizi was allegedly  to be the Secretary General. The two witnesses, Tharcisse Nditurende and Noel Habiyambere,  were arrested in Burundi, trying to enlist the support of the Burundian military, especially General Adolph Nshimiyimana.

    The showdown is expected to continue in the coming days. However, one may wonder how credible the witnesses may be, given the overreaching powers of the dictatorship in Rwanda, the circumstances in which these testimonies were obtained,  and the controversy surrounding trial for which the judgment appears already pronounced.

©Copyright, AfroAmerica Network, April 29, 2010.