Three days to Christmas, over 500 Nyarugenge youth yesterday joined other Rwandans to demonstrate against the arrest of the Director of State Protocol, Rose Kabuye. The demonstrations held at the German embassy stressed that Kabuye should be released immediately before Christmas celebrations. Kabuye was arrested in Frankfurt in November on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by a French judge Jean Louis Bruguière. “The arrest warrant on which Kabuye was arrested had been known for long, then how come the French are suddenly adjourning the trial if they have a case against her they should be having the case ready,” said Valence Ntukanyagwe the co-coordinator of the National Youth Council. She is currently in France from where she has been waiting for the date of her trial to be set since her release on bail. Ntukanyagwe added that this act portrayed France’s fear to let go of the case despite knowing of Kabuye’s innocence. “Honestly I don’t understand the issue of arresting a person and at the end of the day you lack the evidence to send them to court,” he said. The Nyarugenge youths have on several occasions protested the controversial arrest before the Germany embassy and they vowed to continue doing so until Kabuye is released. According to the protestors, the campaign is meant to fight misuse of the principle of Universal Jurisdiction. “The law should be respected and not to be used to suppress the weak,” said Zainabu Uwera another youth protestor. Ben Kayumba, another youth called upon fellow youth to be patriotic and always take all State matters as their concern. The protestors said that this arrest was a stub in the wounds left by the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi especially because Kabuye was among the people who stopped the Genocide. “This gives us more reason to continue with the battle because we know that our enemy is still out there,” added Kayumba. Ntukanyagwe urged the youth to always stand up against such ill practices that target the country. “When leadership is disturbed, the major aim is bringing the country down but it’s not yet time to give up,” said Ntukanyagwe. Recently, both President Paul Kagame and Minister of Justice Tharcisse Karugarama assured Rwandans that efforts are underway to extend Kabuye’s bail jurisdiction so that she can be able to travel to Rwanda even before the trial is over. Ends
