Nyarugenge Primary Court on April 14, handed a suspended sentence to a man who used social media to encourage the public to defile girls. Evariste Tuyisenge, whose Twitter handle is "NTAMA W'IMANA 2", was arrested on March 21, after making a tweet that encouraged defilement.
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During his hearing on April 6, Tuyisenge was represented by his lawyer, Innocent Muramira. The prosecution charged him with ‘Publication of Pornographic Images through a Computer or a Computer System’ and requested that he be imprisoned for three years.
According to the prosecution, Tuyisenge had shared messages encouraging people to defile children on several occasions. One such message was posted on March 13, when he tweeted "Girls under the age of 17 taste good" among other messages.
The judge delivered a suspended sentence of three years and a fine of Rwf1m to Tuyisenge. The judge noted that Tuyisenge had pled guilty to the crime, is a student, and is a first-time offender. Thus, the sentence was suspended for a year, giving him a chance to redeem himself.
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Tuyisenge apologized to the court and promised to use social media to encourage people to do good. His lawyer also argued that Tuyisenge had no previous criminal record and was a young person who made a mistake.