Thomas Nahimana
Thomas Nahimana, is a former Catholic priest and a Rwandan. He is the founder and leader of the Ishema Party, and a key figure in the opposition to President Paul Kagame. Thomas Nahimana is also the leader of the "New Generation", a movement that seeks change and democracy in Rwanda using nonviolent methods.
Early life
Nahimana was born to a Hutu father and a Tutsi mother. He studied in Rwanda and France and held doctorant degrees in Law, Philosophy and Theology. He attended seminary first in Nyundo, then in Nyakibanda and was ordained a Catholic priest on July 18, 1999. He served as a priest in Nyamasheke District, Hanika, and Muyange. He taught at Saint Aloys Junior Seminary of Cyangugu, and he was the President of the diocesan Just and Peace Commission in Nyamasheke, Cyangugu, from 1999 to 2005.Exile and political career
He has been living in exile in France since 2005 in fear for his safety. Nahimana holds dual Rwandan and French citizenship.Criticism
Numerous media outlets loyal to the current Government of Rwanda, led by Kagame, alleged that he had fled the country after embezzling money from a microfinance group. However, the Cyangugu Catholic Church Bishop considered that information completely false and fabricated, a result of a smear campaign against Father Thomas Nahimana, as an Opposition Leader.In 2011, the Catholic Church in Rwanda, under the pressure of the current Rwandan Government, distanced its organization from Nahimana and Fortunatus Rudakemwa upon the proclamation of Bishop Jean Damascene Bimenyimana of Cyangugu Diocese for "instigating divisionism and promoting genocide ideology". Not only that but some members of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, the ruling political party in Rwanda, which is led by Rwanda's current President Paul Kagame, have accused father Nahimana of being a genocide denier, from comments he has made while abroad, a serious charge that carries years of imprisonment if one is convicted. The current government of Rwanda has not charged the father of any wrongdoing.