African parliamentarians call for Kabuye’s ‘unconditional release’

The African Parliamentary Union (APU) is the latest body to condemn last month’s arrest in Germany of State Protocol Director Rose Kabuye. During a just concluded APU meeting that took place in the Ugandan capital Kampala, continental lawmakers called for Kabuye’s unconditional release and requested the African Union to take up the issue. Kabuye was arrested on November 9 at the Frankfurt International Airport as she arrived in Germany to prepare a visit by President Paul Kagame. “By virtue of the principle of equal sovereignty of all the members of the United Nations Organisation, abuse of the principle of international law constitutes, not only a violation of the sovereignty of a country like Rwanda, but also a violation of the principle by which a country cannot exercise its power over the territory of another,” reads a resolution from the meeting. Kabuye, who has since been granted bail by a French judge, is still in France from where she waits for a date of hearing to be fixed. The IPU meeting which ended Sunday requested the African Union to take up the issue of Kabuye’s arrest by virtue of its prerogative and to adopt appropriate mechanisms aimed at preserving the sovereignty of its member states. Her arrest stems from the indictments issued by French Judge Jean Louis Bruguiere who accuses her together with eight other senior government officials of having played a role in the downing of the plane that was carrying former President Juvenal Habyarimana. The Government of Rwanda has contested these warrants saying that the judge did not conduct investigations prior to issuing the indictments. It also took France to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) but France has however refused to submit itself to the ICJ jurisdiction. Kabuye’s arrest has triggered off worldwide protests by both Rwandans and non-Rwandans and many called the act another bout belittling of African States by their former colonial masters. Ends

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African parliamentarians call for Kabuye’s ‘unconditional release’