NORTHERN PROVINCE

Statistics have shown that rape and defilement cases stand at 90% of the cases committed by the juveniles who are currently getting legal aid in the Northern province.This was revealed during the ongoing Legal Aid Week which has enabled the juveniles and vulnerable children get free legal representation in court.

On Tuesday, 20 juvenile cases which were tried in Musanze Grand Instance Court involved rape, while on Monday 10 out of 14 cases tried were also related to rape and defilement. A few cases were to do with robbery.

The coordinator of Legal Aid activities in the province, Gasana Rwangeyo, said the exercise will speed up the completion of a backlog of cases involving juveniles while administering justice.
Some of the court proceedings were held within the public audience in Gakenke and Burera districts. They were all related to rape.

One of the beneficiaries of the free legal aid included a 19-year old Ruhirwa, who was acquitted of the rape charges.

The presiding judge, Izabella Riziki, who is the president of the Grand Instance Court in Musanze dismissed the case because prosecution failed to provide enough evidence.
Speaking to The New Times shortly after being set free, Ruhirwa expressed relief.

"I feel rescued, because this case has been pending since 2002, when my former employees alleged that I raped their daughter but failed to produce evidence to prove it,’’ he said.
618 children from prisons countrywide are expected to acquire fair legal hearing and legal information on a day to-day basis.
In the trial of another suspect, Nkundakozera Mbarushimana whose case has been pending since 2000, the judge postponed hearing after documents showed that he was 13 when he committed the crime, yet prosecution had a different birth date.

Mbarushimana is accused of defiling a four-year old girl.
The program which is supported by various organisations including UNICEF, UNDP aims at creating awareness on the convention of the rights of children.

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