Dr. Kayumba was acquitted.
The Nyarugenge High Court has acquitted and ordered the immediate release of Dr. Christopher Kayumba, a former university lecturer, after he was cleared of all charges which the prosecution had leveled against him, including alleged attempted rape, harassment and soliciting for sexual favours.
Dr. Kayumba, a former University of Rwanda (UR) professor of journalism and one of the owners of The Chronicles Rwanda newspaper, was arrested in September 2021 on allegations of rape and complicity to rape following cases filed by different individuals.
Rwanda Prosecution office had sought a 10 years and six months’ prison sentence who is charged with crimes of sexual abuse.
Throughout his defense in the case, Dr Kayumba denied all the charges and accused his female accusers of fabricating allegations against his name.
Kayumba said that what the Prosecution says has no evidence of actions aimed at committing a crime other than the words they use and stated that he cannot testify to the charges. Dr. Kayumba also at some point claimed that the charges were politically motivated but Prosecutors dismissed his claims.
