Jeff Lule
20 November 2008
Kampala — HUNDREDS of people yesterday turned up for a peaceful demonstration outside the French embassy in Kampala to protest the recent arrest of a senior Rwandan official, Rose Kabuye.
They handed over their petition to French ambassador Rene Forceville.
Kabuye, who is President Paul Kagame's chief of protocol, was arrested in Germany on November 9, following a warrant for her alleged involvement in the 1994 genocide.
Responding to the petition, Forceville said: "I would not comment a lot about the matter since it is before court. Many judicial cases are going on internationally and this is not the first one." He stressed that the judiciary has to follow international law.
"The charges do not take into account political matters. Rose was also informed about the arrest and she decided to risk it and fly there and we should leave the law to take its course," Forceville said.
Kabuye was released on Wednesday and barred from travelling outside France without the judge's permission. The petition, which was also copied to the European Union, the Germany Embassy and the Uganda Parliament, called for the investigation of France in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Grace Kabayo, the executive director of the Pan African Movement, the key organisers of the protest, said: "If she is not unconditionally released, we as Pan Africanists and members of the East African Community are going to mount a boycott on all French businesses, products and services commencing November 30." She stressed that Rwanda was a sovereign East African state which can handle its matters within the region.
Uganda also protested Kabuye's arrest, saying it violated the sovereignty of states.
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