I spoke with a friend in Kigali yesterday who told me that an estimated 7,500 people joined a march to protest Kabuye’s arrest. That’s quite a figure anywhere, but especially in a country that doesn’t use a march as a forum for expression as often as, say, America. I also hear from folks in Kigali that the German ambassador has been expelled.
Also, corrections from on-the-ground in Kigali: Kabuye is a former, not a current, member of Parliament, and she is chief of protocol for President Kagame, so she went to Germany to help arrange his visit. There’s more about her background in the links I posted.
Keep the news (and corrections) coming, readers!
Rwanda uses protest marches only if they are sanctioned and supported by the government. To organise such a protest in Kigali, it is the government that organises transport to the protest march venue, media, publicity materials, shelter for sit-ins and sometimes snacks/drinks.
What value does a protest march have if it is organised by the government? It may impress the international media, but in terms of expressing a genuine outrage of individual Rwandans, it is a bit of a farce.