Ingabire Umuhoza Victoire, who is facing charges related to an alleged plot to overthrow the Rwandan government, told the Kigali High Court that she acknowledges FDU-Inkingi became an armed group, but maintains that this happened while she was in prison. She has been appearing before the court since September 18, 2026, alongside nine other defendants, most of whom are former members of her political party, DALFA-Umurinzi. They are facing seven charges.
The other defendants are Hagenimana Hamad, Masengesho Emmanuel, Mutabazi Alphonse, Nahimana Marcel, Ndayishimiye Jean Claude, Nsengimana Theoneste, Rucubanganya Alexis, Sibomana Sylvain and Uwatuje Joyeuse. During the hearing on October 1, 2026, Ingabire continued presenting her defence, denying involvement in the activities of the P5 coalition, allegedly led militarily by Kayumba Nyamwasa, and those of RUD-Urunana.
Ingabire Says FDU-Inkingi Joined P5 While She Was in Prison
Ingabire told the court that in August 2015, when an agreement to establish the P5 coalition was signed, FDU-Inkingi was represented by Joseph Bukeye, its then vice president, who lives in Belgium. She said she was in prison at the time.
she said: “Bukeye lived in Brussels, and I could not communicate with him by telephone. This means that the activities carried out by P5 or FDU-Inkingi while I was in prison happened while I retained the title of President, but I had no authority over the party,” She explained that leadership of P5 rotated among its member parties, which included FDU-Inkingi, RNC, PDI-Imanzi, Amahoro People’s Congress and Bernard Ntaganda’s PS-Imberakuri.
Ingabire said P5 issued a statement on August 13, 2019, after her release from prison. By then, FDU-Inkingi was due to assume leadership of the coalition, but she informed the group that she wanted to withdraw. Bahunga Justin was subsequently appointed instead. “When I led FDU-Inkingi, it was a political organisation seeking registration so that it could participate in politics here in Rwanda. It was not a military organisation,” she told the court.
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Ingabire Denies Involvement in Recruitment of Fighters
Ingabire told the court that while she was in prison, members of FDU-Inkingi sent people to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to participate in activities aimed at overthrowing the Rwandan government. She maintained that she had no involvement in those activities because they took place during her imprisonment.
She said: “While I was in prison, the people I had been working with changed the direction of the party. That was when they joined P5, in 2015. Some of the people I had been with in FDU-Inkingi engaged in activities to recruit soldiers to be sent to Congo.”
Ingabire denied being responsible for sending fighters to the DRC, saying the activities were carried out by other members of the political parties within P5. She referred to individuals who had previously been tried after their arrest, including retired Major Habibu Mudathiru.
The prosecution argued that, as president of FDU-Inkingi, Ingabire should have dissolved the party if she knew it was involved in activities causing problems. However, she told the court that she lacked the authority to dissolve the party unilaterally because such a decision had to follow its internal rules.
she said: “They keep saying that it was the FDU-Inkingi party and that if I had left it, I should have dissolved it. We all know that a political party has its own rules. Even though I was the President, I did not have the authority to simply decide to dissolve FDU-Inkingi.”
Ingabire Explains Why She Founded DALFA-Umurinzi
Ingabire told the High Court that when she was released in 2018, she found that FDU-Inkingi members had made mistakes by mixing the party’s structures operating inside Rwanda with those operating abroad.She said she requested that the issues be corrected, but members refused. She maintained that despite being the party’s president, she lacked the authority to dissolve it.According to Ingabire, this disagreement contributed to her decision to establish DALFA-Umurinzi in 2019.
Ingabire returned to Rwanda from the Netherlands in 2010. She told the court that she had come to engage in politics and pursue change through peaceful means, rather than participate in criminal activities.She also rejected the prosecution’s allegations that DALFA-Umurinzi, which she established after leaving FDU-Inkingi, was a terrorist organisation or an armed group.
she said: “DALFA -Umurinzi has its own political programme. There is nothing indicating that it seeks to harm the current government,” The judge adjourned the hearing at 12:59 p.m., with the trial scheduled to resume on October 5, 2026.
