A well-known Rwandan YouTuber and government critic is at the center of a growing controversy, raising serious questions about freedom of speech.
His clash with the authorities highlights the ongoing struggle between speaking out against the government and facing punishment in a country where free expression is often under pressure.
Rwandan citizen and Youtuber, Rashid Hakuzimana, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for breaching Rwanda’s laws on genocide denial.
According to a BBC report, the YouTuber, who was arrested in 2021, denied all the charges that also included ‘inciting ethnic division and spreading false information’ for claiming that anyone who dares to challenge President Paul Kagame in elections is jailed.
Rwandan Law
During the trial, he told the court that it was criticism of the government in his popular YouTube videos that was the real reason for his arrest.
Under Rwandan law, it is a crime to deny, downplay, or attempt to justify the genocide, in which about 800,000 people were killed in 1994.
Ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were targeted in the 100-day massacre by Hutu extremists.
Three Years To Go
The Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebels who ended the genocide are accused by rights groups of killing thousands of Hutu people in retaliation as they took power—an allegation denied by the RPF-led government.
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The genocide remains a hugely sensitive issue in Rwanda, and it is illegal to fuel any sort of division.
The judge who sentenced Hakuzimana on Tuesday said his remarks on YouTube, such as those suggesting that genocide orphans were not as well cared for as the children of senior government officials, amounted to fueling division.
The YouTuber and government critic has attracted thousands of viewers on his Rashid TV channel.
The 56-year-old represented himself during the trial but refused to mount a defence because he wanted to be referred to as a politician in court, not a YouTuber. He also complained that he had spent three years in jail since his arrest.
Following his sentencing, Hakuzimana will serve four years in prison—as the three years already spent in prison will be taken into account.
He was also fined $700 (£500). It is not yet clear if he will appeal.
