Diane Shima Rwigara is a Rwandan businesswoman. She is an accountant who stood as an independent candidate withinside the 2017 Rwandan presidential election.
Diane Shima Rwigara was charged on 23 September 2017, along with her mom and 4 other defendants, with "inciting insurrection" amongst different counts, however was acquitted together with her mom on 6 December 2018.
Diane Shima Rwigara was born in Kigali to a Tutsi family and had 3 siblings. Her father, Assinapol Rwigara, a key financier of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, was killed in a car collision in Gacuriro, Kigali. Her family believes the accident was politically stimulated murder. The police stated he was instantly killed while the Mercedez-Benz car he was driving turned into a head-on collision with a truck.
Diane Shima Rwigara is a skilled accountant. She has repeatedly spoken out in opposition to the country's governance under President Paul Kagame and approximately injustice and oppression.
On 3 May 2017, Rwigara announced her goal to run withinside the presidential election. 72 hours later, nude photos of her had been leaked in an attempt to humiliate and intimidate her. She reiterated her goal to run, with marketing campaign vows to work in the direction of eradicating poverty, organising universal health insurance and championing free speech.
The National Electoral Commission on 7 July 2017 disqualified Rwigara from the election on technical grounds, alleging she had used solid signatures in her presidential bid and had submitted 572 valid signatures instead of the required 600.
Diane Shima Rwigara said she submitted 958 signatures, with an extra 120 after some had been disqualified. Two other applicants had been additionally disqualified, prompting Amnesty International to mention that the election could be held in a "climate of repression and fear and. "The choice was additionally criticised by the US State Department and the European Union. Kagame received the 4 August election with 98% of the vote.
Diane Shima Rwigara released an activist group referred to as the People Salvation Movement to mission the regime on its human rights record, announcing that the country's parliament is little extra than a rubber-stamp. The People Salvation Movement, according to Shima Rwigara, will hold her work of sensitising Rwandans approximately their rights and criticising the action and policies of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) party.
