Ishema Party
Ishema Party is a Rwandan political movement founded by Rev. Father Thomas Nahimana and other young Rwandan activists and scholars.
Contents
1 History
2 leprophète.fr
3 Father Thomas Nahimana
4 2017 presidential election
5 References
History
The Ishema party was founded in Paris, France on 28 January 2013.[1]
The vision set by the founders is "promoting Democracy through the truth, intrepidness and social justice".[2] From the beginning they proposed non-violence and peace, based on dialogue and consensus upon the constructive initiatives to be implemented in a manner evenly beneficial to all the citizens.[2] This mean that every Umutaripfana should stand for the Truth, Intrepidness and Social Justice.
On 8 February 2014 the Ishema Party convened its first Congress and decided that the time had come to go back home and realise their political program as resumed in their main society project named "Together to Modernise Rwanda".[1] It was in this Congress that Rev. Father Thomas Nahimana was nominated as the presidential candidate in the elections of 2017.[3]
However, the Ishema Party leaders were not able to realise their project after attempting twice to go back to their home country; they were denied their right by the Government of Rwanda[4] which is currently led by Paul Kagame and the Rwandan Patriotic Front.
After consultation with other members of Rwanda opposition in exile, members of Civil Society, and some personal individuals, they decided to found a Government of Rwanda in Exile and the idea was realised on 20 February 2017. Rev Father Thomas Nahimana became President of the Republic and Mr Abdullah Akishuri became Prime Minister. There were also 12 other Ministers of the Cabinet.
Members of the Ishema Party are called "Abataripfana" meaning "Brave people who can never stop saying the truth no matter what".
leprophète.fr
Nahima and others created a party online newspaper, leprophète.fr, to present their political views. The Rwandan government condemned the paper as dangerous.[1]
Father Thomas Nahimana
Father Thomas Nahimana was a priest in Cyangugu diocese, in southwestern Rwanda. He fled the country in 2005 and has been living in France. He holds dual Rwandan and French citizenship.[5]
Nahimana, in common with Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza and other opponents of the RFP (Rwandan Patriotic Front), is accused of being a genocide denier from comments he has made while abroad and could face charges and years of imprisonment.[6] Nahima also briefly sought to join his efforts with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDRL), but was rejected.[1]
2017 presidential election
On January 22, 2017, Father Nahimana Thomas, the leader of the Ishema party, attempted to return to Rwanda to run for the presidency in the August elections. He would be the sole opponent against Paul Kagame, who will run for a third term after the Rwandan Constitution was changed to allow a third term. Once again Nahimana was denied entry to Rwanda by the Rwandan Directorate of Immigration on the basis of a series of complex passport and visa issues.[6][4]
References
^ abcd Rwanda: Le parti Ishema dévoile son programme à Bruxelles, Jambo News, May 16, 2013
^ ab therwda. "NOVEMBER 23rd 2016 IS THE DATE TO LAND IN RWANDA TO CLAIM THE POLITICAL SPACE | Therwandan". www.therwandan.com. Retrieved 2017-03-31..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Jeanne. "PRESS RELEASE: We strive to get "TOGETHER TO MODERNIZE RWANDA"". www.ishema-party.org. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
^ ab Rwandan priest with political ambitions says barred from returning, Daily Mail (via Reuters), 23 November 2016, accessed February 6, 2017 at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3964996/Rwandan-priest-political-ambitions-says-barred-returning.html
^ "Rwanda Denies Controversial Priest Entry Again", The East African, January 24, 2017, accessed February 6, 2017 at http://www.allafrica.com/stories/201701260059.html
^ ab Elsa Buchanan. Opposition leader Thomas Nahimana prevented from returning to Rwanda, again. International Business Times, January 24, 2017, accessed February 6, 2017 at http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/opposition-leader-thomas-nahimana-prevented-returning-rwanda-again-1602864
