Case History: Epimack Kwokwo
On 28 May 2016, human rights defender Mr Epimack Kwokwo was summoned to a Rwandan immigration office in Kigali where he was declared persona non grata in Rwanda. He was shown a letter announcing this decision, signed by the Director General of Immigration, and promptly driven to the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After several formalities where officials returned Epimack Kwokwo’s passport that they have held since October 2015, immigration authorities facilitated his crossing to the DRC.
Epimack Kwokwo is the acting Executive Secretary of La Ligue pour la défense des droits de l’homme dans la région des grands lacs (League for the defense of human rights in the Great Lakes region – LDGL), which is an umbrella organisation within the Great Lakes region that unites 25 member human rights organizations in Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The organisation has served as a focal point for the protection of human rights defenders in Rwanda and has worked with victims of human rights violations across the region, seeking to guarantee their safety.
On 28 May 2016, human rights defender Mr Epimack Kwokwo was summoned to a Rwandan immigration office in Kigali where he was declared persona non grata in Rwanda. He was shown a letter announcing this decision, signed by the Director General of Immigration, and promptly driven to the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After several formalities where officials returned Epimack Kwokwo’s passport that they have held since October 2015, immigration authorities facilitated his crossing to the DRC.
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On the morning of 27 May 2016, Epimack Kwokwo was interviewed for three hours at a Rwandan immigration office about the LDGL and his permission to work in Rwanda. The human rights defender is originally from the DRC. Immigration authorities told him he would need to pay a sum of $800 USD to cover the cost of his work permit and a fine on the work permit. Having left the immigration office early in the day, Epimack Kwokwo received a phone call at 18:30 from an immigration officer named Moses who told him that he needed to appear at the immigration office the following morning, 28 May 2016, before 8 am.
On 28 May 2016, Epimack Kwokwo arrived at the immigration office at 7:20 am. Shortly afterwards the immigration officer, Moses, came to discuss the situation with the human rights defender. He made him aware that the Director General of Immigration was not available, and he had a letter for the human rights defender. At 9 am, the letter was presented to Epimack Kwokwo with the announcement of his status as persona non grata in Rwanda and his subsequent expulsion. The decision is based on Article 13 of the law governing immigration and emigration in Rwanda even though he is not contravening any articles of that law. Article 13 on “The procedure regarding foreign workers” states that all foreign workers in Rwanda must have a valid work permit, however the human rights defender was expelled before time allowed for him to pay the aforementioned fee for his work permit. At 10 am the human rights defender was put in a car with three immigration officials and a driver. He was driven from Kigali to the Rwandan border with the DRC at the Rusizi river. Immigration officials returned Epimack Kwokwo’s passport, and facilitated his border crossing to the DRC.
The human rights defender was not notified prior to his expulsion of the ruling against him, thus he was not able to collect belongings from his home or notify his family of the situation. Upon arrival in the DRC, Epimack Kwokwo was without essential items such as his telephone, which had been confiscated before the journey from Kigali to the border crossing.
Since September 2015, when a coalition of organisations in Rwanda, including LDGL, compiled information as part of Rwanda’s 2015 Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Epimack Kwokwo has been targeted by Rwandan immigration officials as they perceive him to be a key actor in the writing of the report by civil society. The report by civil society, as part of Rwanda’s 2015 UPR, contained information that ‘framed Rwanda in a bad light’ as Rwandan officials have communicated to the human rights defender. Epimack Kwokwo has been the target of detention, harassment and threats from immigration officials who have attempted to force him out of Rwanda.
Front Line Defenders believes that the expulsion of human rights defender, Epimack Kwokwo, from Rwanda is directly linked to his work in the defence of human rights, particularly his engagement with different civil society organisations including LDGL to contribute to the 2015 Rwandan UPR. Front Line Defenders is seriously concerned for the psychological integrity of the defender and his family who have been forced to re-locate without notice to the DRC from Rwanda. Front Line Defenders recognizes a pattern in Rwanda in which human rights defenders are repeatedly targeted and prohibited from conducting their work.
Front Line Defenders urges the authorities in Rwanda to:
1. Immediately and unconditionally retract its decision against Epimack Kwokwo and ensure that he may resume his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights without any restrictions;
2. Guarantee in all circumstances that all human rights defenders in Rwanda are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.
Human rights defender Mr Epimack Kwokwo has continued to receive threatening phone calls, ordering him to leave the Ligue pour la défense des droits de la personne dans la région des grands lacs – LDGL (League for the Defence of Human Rights in the Great Lakes region), and also to leave Rwanda. The human rights defender is a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Epimack Kwokwo is the acting Executive Secretary of LDGL, an umbrella organisation based in the Great Lakes region which unites twenty-five member human rights organisations in Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC. The organisation has served as a focal point for the protection of human rights defenders in Rwanda and has worked with victims of human rights violations across the region, seeking to guarantee their safety.
On 12 October 2015, Epimack Kwokwo was arrested by two Rwandan police officers who detained him and took his passport. The following day, he was brought to the Rwandan Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration (CEPGL) for questioning. Since these events in October 2015, Mr Kwokwo has been subjected to continued harassment by the Rwandan immigration authorities including sporadic phone calls regarding his right to work in Rwanda and public de-legitimisation of his work.
LDGL has functioned in a limited capacity since these incidents in 2015, as the registration of their organisation is being stalled by authorities. Rwandan immigration officials have communicated to the human rights defender that only when he returns to the DRC, leaving LDGL, and when the organisation appoints a new Rwandan Executive Secretary, will they allow it to finalise its registration.
This harassment is reportedly linked to the publication of a report for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Rwanda, published jointly by four local NGOs: Maison de droit, Conseil National des Syndicats Libres, Association Rwandaise pour la promotion et la connaissance des droits de l'homme, and LDGL. According to sources, immigration authorities have sought to further target Epimack Kwokwo, believing that he was the sole author of the report and that the report was defamatory of Rwanda and its authorities.
Front Line Defenders calls on the Rwandan authorities to stop the ongoing harassment of human rights defender Epimack Kwokwo and to allow the LDGL to resume its activities. It is believed that the harassment and stalled registration of LDGL is solely related to its legitimate and peaceful human rights activities.
On 13 October 2015 human rights defender Mr Epimack Kwokwo was summoned to appear before the Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration and Emmigration (CEPGL) for questioning following his arrest.
Two Rwandan immigration officials arrested Mr Epimack Kwokwo the previous day, when the human rights defender was questioned about his work permit and the registration status of the Ligue pour la défense des droits de la personne dans la région des grands lacs (League for the defense of human rights in the Great Lakes region – LDGL).
On 12 October 2015, at approximately 1pm, two Rwandan immigration officials arbitrarily arrested human rights defender Mr Epimack Kwokwo at the headquarters of LDGL. The human rights defender was then taken to the Rwanda Directorate General of Immigration and Emmigration building. Mr Epimack Kwokwo was asked to present a document authorising him to travel around the Great Lakes countries and questioned about his work permit and LDGL's registration status. The human rights defender explained that he had a travel document issued by the CEPGL granting him this authorisation, but that he did not have it with him. He was later released under the condition that he present himself again before the immigration authority the following morning at 10am for questioning and to present the above-mentioned document.
His arrest happened while a meeting was being held at LDGL in which a handover to the newly elected Board of Directors was being conducted. The elections had taken place a week prior during a General Assembly of LDGL held in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Prior to these elections, the outgoing chair of LDGL, Mr Cyriaque Ndayisenga, dismissed Mr Kwokwo as the organisation's executive secretary and appointed Mr Anastase Gakire as his replacement – a decision that could only be taken by the whole Board of Directors.
A number of members of the outgoing board rejected the chair's decision as violating the organisation's bylaws; and on 12 October 2015 Mr Anastase Gakire was denied access to the handover meeting, which led him to call the police and say that he was removed from the meeting by force. Shortly after Mr Gakire's call, the police disrupted the meeting and arrested eight members of the organisation, who were later released without charges after several hours of questioning.
The situation of human rights defenders and human rights organisations is particularly fragile in Rwanda, with LDGL being one of the few human rights organisations still actively engaged in human rights activities in the country. Since the disruption and the arrests of its members on 12 October 2015 LDGL has not returned to its normal activites and remains closed.
