Rwanda
Rwanda defends expulsion of Ugandan journalist

afrol News, 5 June - The Rwandan Minister of Home Affairs answers the critique following the deportation of Asumani Bisiika Ibrahim, the editor of the independent, privately-owned 'Rwanda Herald', saying Bisiika had a Ugandan passport and never had applied for a working or residence permit.

Bisiika on 19 May had been escorted to the Ugandan border by Rwandan police. The journalist was given short notice to collect his belongings before being handed over to Ugandan border guards. The French media watchdogs Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) - in a letter of complaint - had put the expulsion in connection with the 'Rwanda Herald' reporting critically on the Rwandan authorities in the weeks before.

Rwanda's Interior Minister, Jean de Dieu Ntiruhungwa, on Monday responded to RSF's protest letter, saying that "journalist Asumani Bisiika Ibrahim, of Ugandan nationality with passport number [...] has been expelled by the immigration authority due to irregularities." 

Ntiruhungwa had obtained information by the Kigali immigration authorities that Bisiika "had established himself in the country in 1994 without a residence visa." In "disregard of national law," he had installed himself as a correspondent of the Ugandan journal 'The Monitor' and later founded the Rwandan newspaper 'Rwanda Herald', "ignoring Rwandan media registration laws." Thus, the publication had not been properly registered and Bisiika did not have a working permit or a permit to run commercial operations.

The Minister's letter also rejects RSF's accusations of press freedom violations in Rwanda. "You will therefore understand that the reasons advanced in your letter - saying he was expelled following the publications critical of Kigali authorities - are unfounded, as the freedom of the press is recognized in Rwanda," Ntiruhungwa writes. 

RSF Secretary General Robert Ménard had strongly condemned Bisiika's deportation. Ménard doubted the legality of the step taken. "This journalist has been living in Rwanda since 1994 and we do not understand why he has suddenly been deported, for no apparent reason," he said, although admitting Bisiika is a Ugandan citizen. "According to numerous local observers, this deportation is linked to the Rwanda Herald's publication of articles critical of the regime in Kigali," Ménard added.

The French group has been highly critical towards the media policies of Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his government for a long time and has focused particularly on the country after the establishment of Kagame's anti-French government. 

The Kigali government on the other hand claims it is on a slow but determined path towards the reestablishment of pluralism after the 1994 genocide, where almost one million Rwandans were killed after radical Hutus had established and used hatred media to initiate the killings.

Sources: Based on Rwandan govt, RSF and afrol archives

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