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Rwanda decisions
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The Court of Appeal held that late appeal grounds are inadmissible, upheld the conviction, and maintained the 20-year sentence for rape of a minor.
The Court of Appeal upheld Niyonsenga Bosco’s conviction for defilement, holding that his investigative confession was reliable and the medical report did not negate the offence.
The appellate court held that the testimony of the 10-year-old victim, corroborated by other witnesses and the medical report, was credible and sufficient to uphold the conviction. The court found no procedural or evidentiary errors in the lower courts' assessment and rejected the appellant's claims of bias and insufficiency of evidence.
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The Court of Appeal upheld the defilement conviction, finding the confession, victim testimony, and witness statements reliable, but reduced the sentence to 15 years.
The conviction was upheld because the testimonies of the victim and supporting witnesses, corroborated by the medical report, established beyond reasonable doubt that Ndayambaje Emmanuel committed the offence. The court found no substantive contradiction undermining the core evidence, and familial relationships of witnesses did not invalidate their testimony. However, the sentence was reduced from 21 to 20 years to better reflect the gravity of the offence and the defendant's lack of prior criminal record.
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The Supreme Court held that the conviction was supported by a convergence of testimonial and physical evidence, including the victim's statements, the mother's observations, the teacher's testimony, and the medical report, which was validated when the doctor swore an oath and explained it in court. The procedural defect in the medical report was curable and did not affect the substance of the evidence. The damages awarded were within the trial court's discretion and not shown to be excessive. The appeal was therefore dismissed.
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The Supreme Court upheld a conviction for defilement of a child under 8, holding that the victim’s and mother’s testimony could be relied on with other corroborating evidence.
The Supreme Court upheld a rape conviction, accepted witness and medical evidence, and reduced the sentence to 12 years and a 100,000 RWF fine.
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