A British mother-of-two has gone missing in Rwanda Capital Kigali after she was reportedly abducted by security agents because of her political affiliation, TrumpetNews understands.
According to her husband Faustin Rukundo, Violette Uwamahoro, 39, a youth worker from Leeds disappeared nearly two weeks ago in the Rwandan capital Kigali after travelling to attend her father’s funeral country.
She had arranged to meet a relative at the city’s bus station on 14 February but failed to make the rendez vous and her mobile phone was switched off within minutes of her scheduled arrival time.
Faustin who dissented The Kagame Administration and has since fled the country, believes his wife has fallen into the hands of Rwanda’s military intelligence as part of efforts to disrupt opposition to the country’s president, Paul Kagame, who has been frequently criticised by human rights groups for imposing an increasingly authoritarian grip on his citizens.
Mr Rukundo, a laboratory technician who gained British nationality along with his wife in 2014 and has lived in the UK since 2004, said he believed her disappearance was directly linked to his role as an activist in the opposition.
“It is understood that Rwandan officials have told British diplomats that they do not know the whereabouts of Mrs Uwamahoro, who has two sons aged 10 and eight,” Faustin said.
Police speaks out
As Uwamahoro’s family exerted more pressure on the regime, Rwanda Police spokesman Theos Badage yesterday confirmed she had been detained but was free to meet her relatives.
Badage rubbished reports published by a UK newspaper that Uwamahoro had been abducted by the Rwandan army.
“We are the ones who have been holding her and her host country was informed through the established official channels,” he said.
“We may request judicial cooperation from UK authorities to investigate additional individuals belonging to the same network in the UK, based on credible evidence we currently have,” Badage concluded.
This development comes at a time the country is preparing for Presidential elections slated for August this year.
