Political parties that where named last week by Ombudsman Tito Rutaremara as having failed to declare their wealth have said they were ignorant of the law.

The parties in question are Parti Démocrate Idéale (PDI), Parti pour la Progress et la Concorde (PPC), Union Démocratique du Peuple Rwandais (UDPR) and Parti Socialiste Rwandais (PSR).

The parties are led by top politicians namely; Mussa Fazil Harerimana (PDI), Senator Alivera Mukabaramba (PPC), MP Jean Baptiste Rucibigango (PSR) and former MP Claire Kayirangwa (UDPR).

While presenting his 2007 report last Thursday, Rutaremara requested both Chambers of Parliament to ban the four parties for failing to declare their wealth to his office.

Mukabaramba told The New Times on Friday that they had confused the declarations to the Ombudsman’s Office with the reports they usually submit to both the Ministry of Local Government and that Office of the Ombudsman.

"Normally, we compile a report on how we disperse our funds and give copies to the Ministry of Local Government and the Ombudsman. We thought that is all we were required to do," Mukabaramba said. She added that she had instructed her party’s financial officers to compile a report that she would in turn submit to the Ombudsman’s Office.

However, Mukabaramba said that the Senate could not ban political parties just because they had failed to declare wealth. "Its true the Senate has the right to ban a party or suspend it, but all that is done through legal procedures. But there is no basis for the Senate to dissolve a party for not declaring its wealth because that would not be constitutional," the Senator said.

Mukabaramba ran for presidential elections in 2003 only to step down and rally behind Paul Kagame at the eleventh hour.

PDI’s Harerimana admitted his party was in the wrong though he sought to shift blame on his colleagues in the party.

"According to the law, the deadline for wealth declaration is March 31. However, the person who was supposed to deliver the report got problems on the way to the Ombudsman’s Office and delayed," he said. "But he was able to deliver it the following day," Explained Harerimana.

Asked about Rutaremara’s appeal to the Senate to block the parties from participating in the forthcoming elections, the minister said: "The law stipulates that. The Ombudsman has a right to request for penalties in such cases. If he happens to do so, the Senate will decide accordingly."

He said his party would respect the Senators’ decision. "But even if we were blocked from participating in the elections, we would still choose the best candidates from the qualified parties and encourage our members to vote for them."

UDPR’s Kayirangwa also admitted there was neglegance on the part of her party by not declaring their wealth within the specified period.

"It’s the person concerned who may have delayed in delivering the report containing our financial status, but we have since done so," she said.

She however said the Senate has no right to block any political organization from participating in elections.

"While it’s true the Senate has constitutional powers to take punitive measures against errant political organizations, the law does not allow it to bar a party from competing in elections," she said. Rucibigango said PSR presented a report to the Ombudsman, only that it lacked bank statements.

Without elaborating, he said there were parties in worse situations than his, adding that the workers’ party had got used to giving annual reports to the Local Government ministry, the Ombudsman’s Office as well as the Consultative Forum for Political Organisations.

"We never thought that the Ombudsman requires a separate report on wealth declaration since he is one of the recipients of our annual reports," the legislator said.

He however admitted his party had fallen short of meeting what the law requires. He pleaded with the Senate to ignore Rutaremara’s suggestions saying that the parties were in the process of building themselves, and would in future become more vigilant.

"I remember one time in 1988 when I was still a member of the RPF, we had a meeting in Kampala (Uganda) and realised that the party was doing badly financially. Today, RPF is very strong. I believe other parties will grow as well. We have come of age," he said.

He asked decision-makers to first take into account parties’ contribution to the recovery of the country before taking any punitive measures against them. He said his party, just like others, had contributed to the process of rebuilding the country following the 1994 Genocide.

All the four parties rallied behind the Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF)’s President Paul Kagame during the 2003 presidential elections and joined an RPF-led coalition for parliamentary elections in that same year.

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