International and local reports have continuously documented the link between Victoire Ingabire and extremist groups that committed the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Reports have been giving out details of meetings of revisionists attended by Victoire Ingabire. Her speech at the genocide Memorial of Gisozi and her political group largely composed of people who trivialize the genocide.

Victoire Ingabire has instead been trying to convince the world that she is being harassed for being in the "opposition”.

What could be the reasons that force her to use the opposition card?

Reason number 1: She was President of RDR-Netherlands.

During a meeting held in Bukavu, from April 28 - 29th 1995, twenty senior ex-FAR officers created "Rassemblement pour le retour et la démocratie au Rwanda”. The meeting was chaired by Gen Augustin Bizimungu (detained at ICTR) and attended by Gen Ntiwiragabo Aloys (listed by Interpol), Lt Col Bahufite Juvenal( deceased), Kanyarushoki Claver, Colonel Murasampongo Joseph (deceased), Maj Ntabakuze Aloys( detained at ICTR), Charles Ndereyehe (listed by Interpol) and many other genocide suspects who were looking for ways to reorganize from DRC.

Three years later, as a way of spreading their propaganda in western capitals, RDR leadership appoints Victoire Ingabire and Ignace Murwanashyaka (detained by German court on link with FDLR) as RDR Representative in Netherlands and Germany respectively. The two were assigned to defend the cause of genocide suspects in the camps of Zaire.    Reason number 2: She was president of RDR.

In 2000, camps of genocide suspects in the then Zaire are destroyed. The re-organization of ex-FAR disrupted. RDR decides to give more powers to their members living in the western World. In August 2000, Victoire Ingabire is elected President of RDR.

As it appears in her own writing in "Rwanda Rwacu” of November 2000, Victoire Ingabire acknowledged that RDR was created from Mugunga refugee camp as a rally with the objective of repatriating the refugees and that it had now turned into a political party she was leading.

Victoire Ingabire was leading a political group which was speaking for the rights of those who had committed the genocide in Rwanda. RDR U-turn to the Diaspora in Europe came along an intense pressure from the international community which had seen Armée de Liberation du Rwanda (ALIR) listed as an international terrorist group by the USA. To hide links with ex-FAR, RDR changed ‘’refugee’’ connotation of their acronym into ‘’Democracy’ and Republic’, words in the history of Rwanda that are interpreted as Majority and Hutu republic, theories used by Hutu extremists since 1959.

Victoire Ingabire led this group and allied with other Hutu extremist political groups to create what is called today FDU-Inkingi.

Among influential members of FDU-Inkingi, there are those who created RDR in the camps of Mugunga, relatives and ideological sympathizers to the cause. Those who are not part of this Hutu extremist group are either incarcerated at the International Criminal tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) or dead.

FDU-Inkingi is nothing but a splinter group of genocidal outfits and their backers and sympathisers.

Reason number 3: With some FDLR commanders, she started organizing a rebel group from DRC.

Colonel Nditurende Tharcisse alias Hatali Mulinde Henri confirm this. Prior to 2007, Colonel Nditurende was a commander of one FDLR battalion in North Kivu. Victoire Ingabire contacted them in a bid to organize a military group that will put pressure on the Government of Rwanda so as to force negotiations.

With Colonel Nditurende Tharcisse, Victoire Ingabire agreed on the name of the military movement, discussed the statute of the movement, prepared a declaration and agreed on the strategy. Meetings were held in Kinshasa (DRC) and Brazzaville (Republic of Congo). For Victoire Ingabire, everything is set to bring the Government of Rwanda into its knees!!!

Ingabire’s move to FDLR commanders is a desperate one. RDR had failed to be recognized by the international community, same to FDU, yet they want Hutu hegemony power back in Rwanda!!

Reason number 4: She supports genocide revisionists.

The November 2009 report of the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo states the following:

‘’The Group confirmed that FDLR military leaders are also in contact with diaspora members of FDU-Inkingi political party.  The Group also collected information that Victoire Ingabire, the president of FDU, who is based in the Netherlands attended meetings with pro-FDLR participants.”

The presence of Victoire Ingabire in meetings of revisionists is just a continuation of a political background which was meant to support ex-FAR Interahamwe in the camps of Mugunga.  Her speech and company could n’t be different from what she was saying from the beginning of her political carrier in RDR.

Ingabire cannot use her political background to gain support, locally or internationally. The only card she can play is the card of ‘’opposition’’. An opposition which has been a voice of revisionists, of genocide suspects and all those who would like their crimes to be ignored! 

The opposition as seen by Victoire Ingabire will look for pot holes in Kigali to make a statement that roads in Rwanda are bad!! She will use one mishandled case by a judge to say that the Justice system is corrupt!!

It is part of politics, one doesn’t praise the enemy!! Ingabire Victoire and her group of Hutu extremists cannot talk about their associations in Mugunga camps, their revisionist speeches, genocide suspects in their political group and the fact that they recruit from one single ethnic group!! 

Forging an image of ‘’Opposition’’ in Africa remains the only alternative to hide her acquaintance with genocide revisionists and genocide suspects.  The political qualification given to Victoire Ingabire by some people should copy from one given to Jean-Marie Le Pen, a renowned French extremist politician. In France, Jean Marie Le Pen is called an extreme-right leader!!

The author is a Political Analyst