Lewis Mudge
Human Rights Watch
Vermont, United States
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Past articles by Lewis:
African Commission Calls for Justice in Burundi
In July 2011, Audace Vianney Habonarugira made his way to our office in Bujumbura, then the capital of Burundi, to talk. He was a hunted man and had taken precautions to meet us discreetly. Habonarugira, 28, married with a two-year-old child, had joined a rebel movement as a boy and reached the rank of colonel, before leaving in 2009. He then went through the official demobilization process and… → Read More
The Snail’s Pace of Military Justice in Cameroon
Three years ago, we uncovered a gruesome massacre in Cameroon’s northwest region. → Read More
The Perils of Journalism in Cameroon
The details of Martinez Zogo’s death are gruesome. His body was found in Soa, a suburb of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé, on January 22, 2023. It showed signs consistent with severe torture, including electric shocks. → Read More
No Clarity Over Journalist’s Death in Rwanda
Three weeks after the suspicious death of John Williams Ntwali, one of Rwanda’s last remaining independent investigative journalists, Rwandan authorities have failed to ensure a credible, transparent investigation into the circumstances of his death. → Read More
The Epitome of Impunity in Central African Republic
Last week, Hassan Bouba, the minister of livestock and animal health in the Central African Republic, gave a press conference while on a ministerial trip. He was in Ngakobo, a town in the Ouaka province. → Read More
Rwanda’s President Politicizes Refugee Rights
This week, Rwandan President Paul Kagame delivered a stark warning to refugees fleeing renewed violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo: “We cannot keep being host to refugees for which, later on, we are held accountable in some way, or even abused about.” → Read More
No Reprieve in Burundi
Good news met bad yesterday in Burundi, as the lawyer Tony Germain Nkina continued to be held in prison despite his recent acquittal, meaning his detention is now illegal. → Read More
Trial of Rwanda Genocide Suspect Begins in The Hague
The trial of Félicien Kabuga, for crimes committed during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, begins today in The Hague. This is a significant step in efforts to ensure accountability for planning, ordering, and carrying out the genocide in Rwanda. → Read More
ICC Starts Trial against Central African Republic Rebel Leader
Today, the trial of Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, a former Seleka commander in the Central African Republic, began before International Criminal Court (ICC). → Read More
Hardliner Takes Charge in Burundi
Last week Burundi’s president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, removed government officials he said he no longer trusted, including the prime minister, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni. His replacement, Gervais Ndirakobuca, is likely a step back in terms of safeguarding fundamental rights in Burundi. → Read More
ICC Issues Warrant for Central African Republic Rebel Leader
Last week the International Criminal Court (ICC) made public an arrest warrant for a rebel leader in the Central African Republic, Noureddine Adam. → Read More
The Cost of Speaking Up in Rwanda
The legal challenge against deportations, set to be heard in the UK courts this month, presents another opportunity to shine a spotlight on Rwanda’s human rights record. → Read More
UK’s Rights Assessment of Rwanda Not Based on Facts
This week, the United Kingdom published its safety assessment on Rwanda, intended to justify a recently announced agreement to send asylum seekers crossing the English Channel or other so called “irregular” or dangerous routes to the Central African country. → Read More
Chad: How Much Longer Will the Military Council Stay?
One year ago, Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno was killed in clashes between rebels and government forces in Western Kanem province. → Read More
Mokom’s Reckoning in the Central African Republic
On March 14, Chad surrendered a former military coordinator of a group of anti-balaka militia in the Central African Republic, Maxim Mokom, to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Mokom had fled to Chad after having taken part in a rebel coalition that unsuccessfully tried to take power in 2020. → Read More
Still No Answers 2 Years After Rwanda Singer Found Dead
On February 13, 2020, the popular Rwandan singer Kizito Mihigo was arrested and accused of attempting to cross illegally into Burundi. → Read More
Central African Republic Special Court Announces First Trial
On December 17, the Central African Republic’s Special Criminal Court (SCC) announced it will send its first case to trial. This is a significant moment in the difficult effort to see justice for heinous abuses committed in the most recent conflicts in the Central African Republic. → Read More
Rwandan Genocide Kingpin Dies in Mali Jail
Late last month, Malian officials announced that a former Rwandan army colonel convicted of masterminding the slaughter of at least half a million people during the 1994 genocide had died. → Read More
What Press Freedom Looks Like in Rwanda
Celebrating World Press Freedom Day in Rwanda may well require journalists, activists, and diplomats to toe the line of the government’s ever-growing list of forbidden topics. → Read More
The Death of a Warlord in the Central African Republic
Sidiki Abbas, the president and founder of Return, Reclamation, Rehabilitation, or 3R, leaves a legacy of ruthless violence and abuse. → Read More