Muheto arrives at Kicukiro Primary Court on October 31. File Photo.
Kicukiro Primary Court on Wednesday handed Miss Rwanda 2022, Divine Nshuti Muheto, a suspended sentence of three months, after she was found guilty on charges of drunk driving, driving without a license and damaging public infrastructure.
The sentence will be suspended for a period of one year, which means that the beauty queen will not commit any other offence in a period of one year and will be required to report to Prosecution when needed. She will also pay a fine of Rwf190,000.
The 21-year old was arraigned in court last week, with prosecutors levelling three charges against her and requesting for a sentence of months.
Muheto was detained on October 20 after she was involved in an accident which prosecutors said was caused by drunk-driving. The reigning Miss Rwanda was also accused of driving without a license, knocking and damaging public infrastructure and fleeing the scene after the incident.
Muheto pleaded guilty to some of the charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol, driving without a proper driving license and damaging a palm tree and street light but she told court that she did not intend to flee the scene but she went away after a crowd began to gather and some people started calling her by name.
She noted that she feared that they would film her or harm her and she decided to go away and return when law enforcement organs arrive. Prosecutors however alleged that Muheto fled the scene immediately but later she remembered that she had left her phones behind and she returned to pick them.
Court heard that when she was confronted, Muheto denied being the one behind the wheel, insisting on the same when questioned by traffic police officers, who tested her and the alcohol test returned a positive result.
Prosecutors said that the breathalyser returned a 4.0 result when the maximum drivers can’t exceed at 0.8, which means that she had imbibed a lot of alcohol. It is alleged that Muheto was advised to take responsibility for her actions and she admitted but insists that she had not run away from the scene but rather fled from the attention the incident brought to her.
Prosecutors told court that on the 24th of October, Muheto left the Kicukiro-based upscale bar Atelier Du Vin, at around midnight, driving a KIA SPORTAGE and on her way home, she lost control of the car in Nyakabanda – Kicukiro, hitting an electric pole and a palm tree, damaging her car in the process.
Muheto was represented by advocates Iyakaremye Bosco, Rutabingwa Athanase and Safari Kizito. Court heard that she was found in possession of a temporary driving license, which is issued after passing theoretical driving tests, but does not allow one to drive without an instructor.
Regarding the charges, Prosecutors had requested court for six months sentence and a fine of Rwf180,000 on the charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, a sentence of two months and a fine of Rwf10,000 on the charge of driving without a permit as well as a sentence of one year in a correctional facility and a fine of Rwf30,000 for fleeing the scene.
The verdict means that Miss Muheto will be released.
