Rwandan opposition leader charged with incitement and forgery

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Rwandan authorities have charged opposition leader Diane Shima Rwigara with inciting insurrection and forgery, the country's public prosecutor said on Wednesday.

Rwigara was barred from running in the August presidential election, with the electoral authority saying she had not submitted enough signatures to be allowed to contest.

It also accused her of forging some signatures, saying some names belonged to people who had died.

President Paul Kagame won the vote with 98.8 percent, earning him a third term in office.

Diane Shima Rwigara is escorted by her family members after she was arrested by police in Kigali, Rwanda, Sept. 4, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Rwigara, a 35-year-old accountant, repeatedly accused Kagame of stifling dissent and cracking down on opposition leaders.

The prosecutor's spokesman Faustin Nkusi said Rwigara's mother and sister have also been charged with incitement and "discrimination and sectarianism."

The three women have been in detention for around two weeks. They were first arrested on August 30 on tax evasion allegations related to the family's tobacco company. That charge was however not listed among those filed.

Rwigara's brother Aristide, who lives in the US, has accused the Rwandan government of punishing the family for her attempt to run against Kagame.

No date has been set for a hearing.

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