YouTuber And Rwandan Government Critic Jailed

A Rwandan YouTuber has been sentenced to seven years in prison for violating the country’s genocide denial laws.

Rashid Hakuzimana, who was arrested in 2021, denied all charges, including inciting ethnic division and spreading false information, as he claimed that anyone who dares to challenge President Paul Kagame in elections will be jailed.

During the trial, he told the court that criticism of the government in his popular YouTube videos was the real reason for his arrest.

Under Rwandan law, it is a crime to deny, trivialize or attempt to justify the genocide that killed about 800,000 people in 1994.

Ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus were targeted in the 100-day massacre by Hutu extremists.

The Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebels who ended the genocide are accused by rights groups of killing thousands of Hutu people in retaliation when they took power – an accusation that was rejected by the RPF-led government denied.

The genocide remains a highly sensitive issue in Rwanda and it is illegal to foment any form of division.

The judge who sentenced Hakuzimana on Tuesday said his comments on YouTube, such as those suggesting genocide orphans were not as well cared for as the children of high-ranking government officials, fueled 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 defend himself because he wanted to be classified in court as a politician and not a YouTuber.

He also complained that he had spent three years in prison since his arrest.

After his conviction, Hakuzimana will serve four years in prison, taking into account the three years he has already spent in prison.

He was also fined $700 (£500). It is not yet clear whether he will appeal.

Human rights groups have accused Kagame’s government of using genocide denial legislation to crack down on dissent – a claim the government denies.

Last year, a court extended a 15-year prison sentence by another two years for another YouTuber found guilty of inciting violence, disparaging genocide memorials and spreading rumors. Yvonne Idamange had denied the charges during the 2021 trial, which she subsequently boycotted.