Rwandan blogger on trial for fake news
March 18, 2017
A Rwandan blogger has sharply criticised Rwanda’s government, made false and inflammatory claims about the 1994 genocide, and founded a radical opposition group while living in exile in Norway.
Joseph Nkusi is set to go on trial on Monday in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, where he faces charges of genocide ideology, sectarianism, and inciting insurrection or trouble among the population.
His trial is an opportunity for Rwanda to show that it clearly distinguishes between “genocide ideology” – a criminal offence in Rwandan law – and free speech, or the freedom to criticise the government or ruling party.
Nkusi lived in Norway from 2009 until last year. Norwegian authorities rejected his asylum claim, citing a lack of evidence of a risk of persecution in Rwanda.
He was then deported, arriving back in Kigali on October 8. Rwandan authorities immediately arrested him and questioned him about his writings and political activities.
Some of the writings on Nkusi’s blog relay claims about the genocide that are unfounded – stating, for example, that both Hutus and Tutsis were targeted in a “double genocide”.
