Diane Rwigara

Diane Shima Rwigara is a Rwandan businesswoman and women's rights activist who stood as an independent candidate in the Rwandan presidential election, 2017.

Rwigara is a Tutsi who was born in Kigali in 1981 and has three siblings. Her father, Assinapol Rwigara, an industrialist who was a key financial backer of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, was killed in a car accident on the evening of 4 February 2015 in Gacuriro, Kigali, which her family believes was a politically motivated murder. Police said he was instantly killed when the Mercedez-Benz car he was driving was in a head-on collision with a heavy truck.

Rwigara is a trained accountant. She is a women's rights activist who has repeatedly spoken out against the country's bad governance under President Paul Kagame and about injustice and oppression.

On 3 May 2017, Rwigara announced her intention to run in the presidential election. 72 hours later, nude photos of her were leaked in an apparent attempt to humiliate and intimidate her. She reiterated her intention to run, with campaign vows to work towards eradicating poverty, establishing universal health insurance and championing free speech.

On July 7, 2017, the National Electoral Commission disqualified Rwigara from the election on technical grounds, alleging she had used forged signatures in her presidential bid and had submitted only 572 valid signatures rather than the required 600. Rwigara said she submitted 958 signatures, with an additional 120 after some were disqualified. Two other candidates were also disqualified, prompting Amnesty International to say that the election would be held in a "climate of fear and repression." The decision was also criticised by the US State Department and the European Union. Kagame won the August 4 election with 98% of the vote. Rwigara launched an activist group called the People Salvation Movement to challenge the regime on its human rights record, saying that the country's parliament is little more than a rubber-stamp.

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