WESTERN PROVINCE

Rubavu High Court on Thursday sentenced a 30-year-old man to life imprisonment for defiling seven under-age girls.

Jean Bosco Munyankindi, a resident of Mbugangari in Gisenyi reportedly defiled the said girls early this year while working as a member of La Source Choir of ADEPR Mbugangari Church and director of the kids’ choir in the same church. The affected children were members of his choir.

In addition to the jail sentence, court also ordered Munyankindi to pay a fine of Frws100,000 in damages and Frw26,550 as court charges.

After the verdict, the convict was immediately whisked away by prison warders and taken to Gisenyi prison. He, however, has 30 days to file an appeal against the ruling.

Jean Marie Hakizimana, one of the police prosecutors said the case was reported to the police six months ago by eight mothers of the children.

Hakizimana said that the eight parents with the help of the police carried out a medical examination which confirmed that seven out of the eight children had been sexually abused. After passing the verdict, parents of the affected children hailed the ruling saying it was justice at display.

"We have waited for the last six months to see the man who defiled our children face justice. Although up to now the victims test HIV negative, most of them are suffering from various infections and are most likely to have physiological effects all their entire lives due to the pain they were subjected to by this malicious man,”  one of the mothers said shortly after the ruling.

She said that apart from the infections, her daughter had since the incident developed psychological stress which has affected her academic performance.

"This court ruling should work as a lesson and an example to others who still have the bad habit of using cheap materials like sweets and their positions to defile young innocent children,” she added. "What kind of men are they to defile 12-year-old children?”

According to prosecution, the ruling was based on Article 33 of Law no.27/2001 of the Rwandan laws established on 28/04/2001 relating to the protection of children against abuse.

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