A Cabinet Meeting on Wednesday made appointments to the newly created Court of Appeal with Dr. Aimé Kalimunda Muyoboke as President and Marie-Thérèse Mukamulisa as Vice President in addition to 11 other judges.

The judges are Charles Kaliwabo, Patricie Mukanyundo, Marie-Josée Mukandamage, Ruben Rugabirwa, Innocent Munyangeli, Alphonse Hitiyaremye, Justin Gakwaya, Dr. Alphonse Ngagi Munyamfura, Agnès Nyirandabaruta, Richard Muhumuza and Fidelité Kanyange.

All, including Muyoboke and Ngagi, who are university lecturers, and Muhumuza, a former Prosecutor General, have been serving as judges in the Supreme Court, among their other previous occupations.

The President and Vice-President of the Court of Appeal are appointed for a five-year term of office renewable once. The other judges have no fixed term.

Mukamulisa also sits on the African Court for Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which she was appointed by the African Union Summit in 2016 for a six-year term.

Kaliwabo, who has also been named to the Appeals Court bench, has been the president of High Court from where he was replaced by Xavier Ndahayo, who has been his vice president.

Former deputy ombudsman and one-time Permanent Secretary of Parliament, Bernadette Kanzayire was named Vice President of the High Court.

The newly appointed team is subject to approval by the Senate.

Towards the end of May, a law establishing the Court of Appeal was published in the Official Gazette setting in motion efforts by the judiciary to try appeal cases at a higher level without necessarily going to the Supreme Court.

The Organic Law No 002/2018.OL of 04/04/2018 that established the Court of Appeal stipulates that the court will arbitrate, on appeal level, cases handled by the High Court, the Commercial High Court, and the Military High Court.

It is said that the new Court will ensure faster delivery of justice by limiting the number of cases that end up in the Supreme Court.

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