The Senate yesterday unanimously approved the recent Cabinet appointment of Richard Muhumuza to the position of Supreme Court judge and Jean Bosco Mutangana to Prosecutor-General. Muhumuza has been the Prosecutor General since September 2013, while Mutangana has been a National Prosecutor.

The Chairperson of the Senatorial Committee on Political Affairs, Jean Nipomuscene Sindikubwabo, told his colleagues that Muhumuza has years of experience, having worked in the justice system since he completed his university education more than a decade ago.

"The Supreme Court is in charge of high level cases of the country and that’s why we had to really scrutinise the nominee and be sure that he has the ability, experience and tools required for that position.

Muhumuza holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the National University of Rwanda and has been a prosecutor since he left law school 14 years ago. He has also been involved in leading prosecutions of international crimes as a National Prosecutor before being appointed Prosecutor General in September 2013,” Sindikubwabo said.

Before that, Muhumuza served as National Public Prosecution Authority chief administrator for both Huye and Nyarugenge Intermediate levels from 2006 to 2011. He had earlier served as a Deputy Prosecutor-General of the Court of Appeal in Ruhengeri and Nyanza before the judicial reforms of 2004.

Sindikubwabo said as part of the vetting process, his commission met and discussed with Muhumuza varying issues such as case backlog and the dissatisfaction by locals when it comes to the final judgment of some cases and how he plans to address the issue.

Addressing the commission’s role in vetting the nominee for the Prosecutor-General position, Sindikubwabo said Mutangana has been a prosecutor since December 1999 and has worked in different prosecution offices countrywide.

"We discussed several issues but among the issues that stood out was the pursuit of genocide suspects who are outside Rwanda, the pursuit of those who embezzle public funds and corruption. We are confident that his experience as the former head of the Genocide Fugitives Tracking Unit and as a prosecutor in general will be valuable to this role,” he said.

Mutangana holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the National University of Rwanda and a Masters Degree in Law with Specialisation in Criminal Law and Criminology from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.

Between 1999 and 2004, he represented the prosecution in former Cyangugu and Umutara provinces as well as Kigali City before he was promoted to the position of a National Prosecutor in June 2004. He has since represented the prosecution both in High Court and Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the Senate also approved Antonia Mutoro as the new Director-General of the Capacity Development and Employment Services Board – an agency recently created to analyse labour market information and coordinate capacity building for civil servants.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw