Victoire Ingabire, the controversial leader of FDU-Inkingi, an exiled group trying to register as a political party, has been deposed in a well-orchestrated move by her European-based colleagues. A statement published on their website yesterday announced the formation of Comité de Soutien aux FDU-INKINGI (FDU-Inkingi Support Committee) made up of the original FDU Executive Committee). They appointed a coordination committee with Eugene Ndahayo as President. Ndahayo was vice president in Ingabire’s former committee. Others named are; Dr. Nkiko Nsengimana (1st vice president), Dr. Jean Baptiste Mberabahizi (2nd vice president, and Benoit Ndagijimana as the new secretary general. Reliable sources say that cracks began to appear in the shaky alliance after Ingabire’s Assistant, Joseph Ntawangundi, with whom she arrived in the country, was exposed as a Genocide fugitive. Ingabire and her organisation organised a spirited defence claiming that Ntawangundi was being framed. But when the fugitive confessed and sought forgiveness, the embarrassment was too much to bear. Insiders allege that this latest move has been in the pipeline for the last two months. Europe-based FDU members wanted to ditch Ingabire because she was a political liability and her frequent controversies were tainting their image, especially in the eyes of their western backers. Ends
