The law is non-retroactive

Scenario one: You are walking home from school. You see a Rwf5,000 note lying around. You pick it up and ask around if anyone has lost money. No one claims it. You put it in your pocket. You buy a new shirt and start parading yourself around. When people ask you about your source of the newly acquired piece of garment, you proudly declare, “I bought it using money I picked from the road.” One month later, the constitution is amended and now it is criminal to pick money from the road. Don’t panic, wondering how long it will be before you are picked up for the crime you committed. I mean, there are witnesses and you confessed it to many people. Don’t go to the police to start pleading for mercy. This because article 20 (thankfully), says, “No one shall be subjected to prosecution, arrest, detention, or punishment on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a criminal offense under national or international law at the time it was committed.” In other words, the law is non-retroactive. Scenario two: At the time you picked the money, it was already criminal to do that. Since we don’t encourage ‘criminalism’, we are just going to assume that you didn’t know. But I should also probably tell you that ignorance is no defense and, therefore, if you commit a crime, you can’t be exonerated on grounds of ignorance. Well, as it turns out, the money belonged to your classmate (let’s name him Jean Pierre). He is angry and ruthless; he refuses to listen to your pleas for an apology. Worse still, at the time you picked the money, the penalty was a fine of Rwf20,000. But now the penalty has been increased to a fine of Rwf40,000. Should Jean Pierre report you to the police and you are produced before a judge, you will still pay Rwf20,000 because paragraph two of article 20 comes to your rescue once again. It states: “No one shall be punished with a heavier penalty than the one that was prescribed under the law at the time when the offense was committed.Offences and related penalties shall be determined by organic law.”

Education

The law is non-retroactive