Ndimbati will be freed after being acquitted on charges of defilement.
Nyarugenge Intermediate Court on Thursday acquitted local actor and comedian Jean Bosco ‘Moustapha’ Uwihoreye, alias Ndimbati, on charges of defilement and ordered for his immediate release.
The ruling which took place on Friday came after court said that there were inconsistencies in the evidence presented by Prosecution in the case in which Ndimbati is accused of defiling a one Fridaus Kabahizi, who was said to be underage, but it was later found that she had two different identity cards and one showed that she was of age.
Ndimbati, who did not deny sleeping with the girl, who later gave birth to twins, throughout the trial argued that there was consent in their relationship and that he had accepted to take responsibility of the children but said that his accuser was misled by YouTubers who wanted her to blackmail him and extort money from him.
On September 13, Prosecution requested that Ndimbati be sentenced to 25 years in prison for intoxicating and defiling the young woman in December 2019, when she was reportedly 17 years of age. Ndimbati was arrested in March this year.
Court on Friday ruled that there is evidence to show that the said victim was born on January 1, 2002, though she has another ID which showed that she was born on June 7, 2002, meaning that the one with the earliest date is considered. It was also found that Kabahizi had an encounter with Ndimbati on January 1, 2020, as opposed to December 24, 2019, as Prosecution claimed. This would mean that she was of the age of consent the time she met with Ndimbati.
Based on the inconsistencies in the evidence presented, the court ruled that Ndimbati, who was not present in court, should be acquitted and released immediately.
Ndimbati and his lawyers argued that in the lead up to his arrest, he had been threatened by a journalist that he would out the story if he does not pay Rwf2m and when he refused to accept, the interview was aired on YouTube, with Kabahizi sharing distorting information about their affair.
Ndimbati claimed that he had picked the said victim on the street as anyone would with a prostitute but when it emerged that she was pregnant, he agreed to take responsibility she turned down all efforts to amicably resolve the matter, setting impossible demands.
