Diane Shima Rwigara is a Rwandese women’s rights activist, a trained accountant, and businesswoman who once attempted to vie for the country’s top job, that of the head of state.
Diane was born in 1981 in
Kigali to Assinapol Rwigara an industrialist and Adeline Rwigara. Her decision
to run for president in the 2017 Rwandan presidential elections attracted
attention locally and internationally. Diane hoped to be the first female
president of Rwanda. Politics aside, who is Diane Shima Rwigara?
Born:
1981 in Kigali
Age:
39 (as of 2020)
Origin:
Rwanda
Occupation:
Women’s rights activist, Businesswoman, accountant
Famous for: actively opposing the Kagame regime
and vying for the Rwandan presidency in 2017
Twitter: @Shimarwigara
Diane
Shima Rwigara education
Diane Shime Rwigara holds a Bachelor’s Degree in
Finance from Sacramento State University. She has a master’s degree in
Accounting from San Francisco State University. Diane attended high school in
Belgium before she moved to the United States of America to attend college in
California.
Diane
Shima Rwigara career
Diane started off as a lecturer at Stanford
University’s Linguistic Department before moving back to Rwanda. Rwigara is an
activist for women’s rights and is very vocal about political matters in
Rwanda. In 2015, she was among the few Rwandans that expressed their
reservations over the referendum that extended presidential term limits
allowing President Kagame to run for a third term. Diane is a fierce critic of
Paul Kagame and accuses him of nuzzling opposition in Rwanda. Her activism
against the Rwandese government began in 2015 when she publicly accused the
government of being involved in her father’s death.
Diane’s father died in a car accident. Though her
allegations raised many questions, there is yet to be any formal
investigations. On May 3rd, 2017, Rwigara announced her intentions to vie for
the presidency. Diane added a fresh and young face to Rwanda’s presidential
race. Shortly after her announcement, sensitive photos of Diane surfaced all
over the internet.
The photos, allegedly leaked by the government,
were an attempt to intimidate, humiliate and scare her off from running for the
presidency. She, however, responded by reiterating her intentions to vie for
the sit with campaign vows to eradicate poverty, champion free speech and
establish universal healthcare. In a statement to the public, she claimed that
the photos were fake.
She said, “I wanted to be Rwanda’s first female
president, then fake sensitive photos appeared online.” Diane pressed on with
her campaigns centered around eradication of poverty and injustice, and
security in the country.
The election commission later barred her from the
presidential race on accusations that she forged signatures needed for her name
to be on the ballot. The national electoral commission claimed that only 572
signatures of the 600 she submitted were valid. The news of her
disqualification did not come as a surprise to many Rwandans as the commission
disqualified two other candidates. Several other opposition candidates faced
disqualification over similar reasons in previous elections.
The unfortunate event marked the end of her
presidential ambitions but not an end to her woes. She later compared Rwanda
with a beautiful girl who wears a lot of makeup but is dark on the inside in an
interview with the Guardian.
Rwigara decided to start a youth movement after
her short-lived presidential candidacy. On July 14, 2017, she launched the
movement called the People Salvation Movement which aims to sensitize Rwandan’s
about their rights and criticize the Rwanda Patriotic Front. Sensitive pictures
of her spread all over the internet again this time followed by her and her
mother’s arrest.
The government did not spare her siblings either
and put them under house arrest. The court charged Diane with tax evasion,
inciting insurrection and forgery, and her mother with inciting rebellion. Paul
Kagame won the elections with over 98% of the total vote cast. Kagame started
his third term while reports showed that Diane Rwigara was missing.
According to Diane,’s Twitter account, she is
still illegally held by the Rwandan government. Her arrest led to increased
criticism of the Rwandan government by the human rights groups. The government
also detained several leaders and members of the Forces Democratiques
Unifies-Inkingi. The treatment of Diane raises questions on Rwanda’s treatment
of opposition leaders and whether the development Rwanda is experiencing is
worth the human right violations. Diane Shima Rwigara pictures circulated the
internet after her arrest.
The Rwigara’s are a Tutsi family that is very
prominent in Rwanda. Diane Shima Rwigara father was a key industrialist and a
significant financial backer of the ruling party, Rwanda Patriotic Front.
Assinapol Rwigara, her father, died on February 4,
2015, after the Mercedes Benz he was driving collided with a heavy truck. The
Rwigara family believe that his death was politically motivated. The family
claims that Assinapol refused to keep collaborating with the Rwanda Patriotic
Front because the party was allegedly trying to take his company premium
Tobacco away from him. Diane has three siblings including her sister Ann who
was arrested along with her in 2017 after the elections and two brothers.
Diane’s mother Adeline Rwagira is also well known in Rwanda and is currently
under arrest along with her daughter.
The family owned a tobacco plant that was
auctioned off about the tax evasion allegations against Diane. Rwanda’s Revenue
Authority auctioned off the family’s property to pay a tax debt. The family
insists that the move is politically motivated. Her sister Ann Rwigara, the
family business manager, claimed that the plant was auctioned off for way less
than it is worth and insisted that she would be moving to court. The head of
the auction, however, stated that the sale was fair and followed the law.
Is
Diane Shima Rwigara married?
Diane is not married, and information about her
private life is scarce. Miss Rwigara is not one to focus on her love life too
much as she is currently busy trying to secure her release and fight for
democracy in Rwanda. Diane has no children either.
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