EASTERN PROVINCE

RWAMAGANA — Doctors in the country have been urged to always ensure speedy examination of rape and defilement victims before the evidence is erased.

The call was made by the deputy Prosecutor General, Alphonse Hitiyaremye, while meeting over 40 medical doctors on Wednesday –who had convened for a three-day training to acquire skills of handling rape and defilement cases.

The training  being held at Centre d’accuel St. Agnes in the Rwamagana district was organised by the Prosecutor General’s office in collaboration with Institute of Legal Practice and Development (ILPD), based in Nyanza.

While officially opening the training, Hitiyaremye said speedy examination of rape and defilement victims facilitates prosecution work.

Quite often doctors make reports in a technical manner, often making it difficult  for the prosecution to interpret such findings, Hitiyaremye noted.

He warned that sometimes doctors are called to court to explain the results of their examination in case the department of prosecution is not able to attain  clear reports.

According to another official of ILPD, Patrick Munini, the meeting was also called so that doctors would be briefed about the penal code as well as medical legal investigation.

"We very well know that it is doctors who carry out the tests to ascertain whether someone has been raped/ defiled or not. But all this has to be done within a specific period so as to give the right results,” Munini added.

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