Dieudonne Ishimwe, also known as Prince Kid – the former organizer of Miss Rwanda – has been sentenced to five years in prison and fined Rwf2 million.
Friday’s verdict comes after he was found guilty of soliciting sexual favors and rape by the High Court in Nyamirambo.
He had been acquitted of all charges by the lower court in 2022 but prosecution lodged an appeal.
In an interview , Emeline Nyembo, one of Ishimwe’s lawyers, said that there might be opportunities for an appeal in some instances. However, she could not confirm whether they will appeal this time, as she has not yet had access to a copy of the verdict.
“I am currently unable to announce our next step. To proceed to the second level of appeal, we need to carefully review the verdict copy, line by line. This will allow us to understand the basis on which the judges made their decision. Once we have completed this review, we will determine our next course of action,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Daniel Kabanguka, the spokesperson for the Rwanda Correctional Facility (RCS), confirmed that Ishimwe was not “presently” among the inmates at the Nyarugenge Correctional Facility.
What does the law say?
According to the law determining the jurisdiction of the court, in Article 52: “The Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to hear at the first level of appeal cases tried at first instance by the High Court, the Commercial High Court, and the Military High Court.”
The same law determines that the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to try at the second level of appeal cases tried by the High Court, the Commercial High Court, and the Military High Court, in eight cases.
Those cases include cases that have an impact on national security; have ordered penalties that are not provided by law; and cases decided based on a non-existing law that refers to repealed legal provisions or are tried by a court lacking jurisdiction.
Also, the appeal is accepted if cases are decided based on evidence, a document, or submissions that were presented after the conclusion of the hearing without any reopening of the hearing; cases decided by a bench with no required minimum number of judges provided by law; cases pronounced by a judge other than the one having heard them; and if not tried in public while no in-camera hearing is ordered.
Furthermore, the appeal is accepted in the court of appeal if the case has ordered the award of damages of at least Rwf 75,000,000 or in case of disagreement between the parties, the same amount is ordered by the judge.
Lastly, the case is eligible for the second-level appeal, which involves a term of imprisonment of at least 15 years. In criminal cases, reference is only made to the imprisonment sentence given to determine the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal.
Meanwhile, the same law provides that for the action to be admissible at the second level of appeal, the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal must approve it.
“In case the appellant is dissatisfied with the decision, he or she may appeal in writing, against the decision to the president of the Court of Appeal within five days of notification of the decision,” reads part of the law.