Prosecutor General Jean Bosco Mutangana(Left) and Justice Minister Johnston Busingye
On Monday, Chantal Umuhoza reported through Twitter, a case of her cousin who was reportedly raped and eventually lost a job. In her reporting of the case, Umuhoza expressed worry over delayed justice – despite her cousin going through all required channels to report her case.
“My cousin was tied down and raped by her boss in Kigali. She called police after and they reported immediately.
She received medical care and evidence of rape was collected same day. It has been more than two months today and she has not been called to court,” Umuhoza tweeted on Monday, January 14.
In a seemingly frustrating mood, Umuhoza continues: “The rapist has gone on about his life while she (my cousin) lost a job and continues to suffer from the trauma of what happened. With her approval I am using her case to document the whole process to highlight how long a rape case is treated in court and her experiences and support received.”
“Today since 8am to now I was at a court house where they have her file and then to a medical legal examination to observe and get her experiences,” Umuhoza expressed her disappointment while at the court towards end of business hours.
“I saw her break down when she saw the rapist. I realized not even taking to prison the rapist will ever repair her. Criminalizing such offences is not even a solution. Patriarchy is deep and evil,” Umuhoza continued in a thread started on Twitter.
The tread, as decided by the author, could probably be the best option that even brought to attention top officials including Justice Minister Johnston Busingye and Prosecutor General John Bosco Mutangana.
In an immediate response to Umuhoza, Justice Minister requested her to share contacts for immediate follow up.
In a short notice later, Minister Busingye assured Umuhoza that he engaged Prosecutor General and relevant authorities including Rwanda Investigations Bureau (RIB) to follow up the case.
In a response to the reported case, Prosecutor General Mutangana said in a tweet: “I would like to note that this case is under normal criminal procedure investigations and, like other cases of this nature, prosecutors are handling it with utmost importance.”
Mutangana assured Rwandans that his office is up against any sort of rape criminality in the country.
