Open Letter to Lana Verran, President, Amnesty International Canada
Dear Ms Verran, I write you this letter in connection to Dr. Christopher Kayumba, a professor at the University of Rwanda and a columnist in a Rwandan leading newspaper, The Chronicles.
By March 12, 2020, Kayumba will have been languishing in prison for three months. Kayumba was seized in Kigali, Rwanda, by Rwandan security services on December 12, 2019. Kayumba was about to board his Kenya-bound flight. Until now, the authorities have denied him due process — he has yet to be charged in a court of law. This will hardly surprise Amnesty International which regularly reports on the severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, unlawful killings, and unresolved disappearances in General Paul Kagame’s Rwanda.
Today, nobody is advocating for Dr. Kayumba. In such circumstances, he can mysteriously die in a coverup characterized by Rwandan authorities as ”suicide.” This is precisely what happened to Kizito Mihigo on February 17, 2020, Kalisa Mupende in 2019, and Dr. Emmanuel Gasakure in 2015.
We humbly request that you adopt Dr. Christopher Kayumba as a prisoner of conscience.
Yours Sincerely,
David Himbara