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Rwanda decisions
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The Court of Appeal held that Usabamungu was already sufficiently sentenced and dismissed his appeal for further sentence reduction.
Digest of Court of Appeal precedents from May to August 2025 covering sentencing, appeals, evidence, retrial, and procedure in criminal and civil cases.
The Supreme Court held that the trial court did not err in reclassifying the offences to conspiracy to commit genocide, complicity in genocide, and conspiracy to extermination as a crime against humanity, as the underlying facts and acts remained unchanged and the accused had opportunity to defend against them. The evidence, including consistent witness testimony, supported the findings that the accused played a significant role in planning, supporting, and facilitating genocide, including chairing meetings, providing weapons, and issuing orders for killings. The sentence reduction to 30 year…
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The core binding principles are: (1) appellate courts must show, at least implicitly, that all material arguments and evidence were considered, but need not address each individually; (2) sentences cannot be increased on appeal if only the defendant appeals; (3) conspiracy to commit genocide is treated as genocide for intent and punishment; (4) accomplice liability in genocide does not require intent to destroy the group, only knowing assistance; (5) attempt liability does not apply to terrorist group membership; (6) new evidence for retrial must be truly new and material; (7) only parents or…
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The Court of Appeal upheld a 15-year sentence and fine for assault causing death, holding that the offender’s admission of guilt did not justify further reduction.
The Court of Appeal upheld a life sentence for murder and child defilement, holding that admission of guilt does not require sentence reduction.
The Court of Appeal held that admitting guilt for the first time on appeal does not justify sentence reduction, but it may still adjust sentence for proportionality.
The appellant failed to provide credible evidence of provocation, and her admission of guilt was neither unequivocal nor timely. The cruelty and gravity of the offence, including the concealment of the body for six months, justified the sentence of 25 years' imprisonment. No legal or factual error was found in the High Court's decision, and no further reduction of sentence was warranted.
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A Court of Appeal digest from May 2023 summarizing precedents on arbitration waiver, notarial settlement finality, sentencing discretion, confessions, and appeal procedure.
The Court of Appeal established binding principles on criminal responsibility and mental illness, the definition of contradictory judgments, the limits of procedural error as grounds for second appeal, the requirements for recusal, evidentiary standards for property division among unmarried cohabitants, the scope of mitigating circumstances in sentencing, the validity of confessions, the appellate court's power to reduce sentences, the corroboration requirement for child testimony, and the rule that doubt must benefit the accused.
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