Penal code review timely

Editor, RE: “Parliament agrees to Penal Code amendment” (The New Times, October 19). This is a good move toward easing an interpretation of laws in Rwanda. I was recently reading one news outlet about a person who raped a lady in the mid of the night. According to the paper, such an offence is punishable to up to three years in prison under the Rwandan penal code. Rape offence is very serious, it is an offence that touches human dignity and confidence; at best, it’s an offence that embarrasses girls and women to the highest degree level. In many countries under sexual offences special provisions act, any person who commits rape — even when it means just slight penetration, the accused person is sentenced to life or at least 30 years in prison. This is the way to protect women against sex predators. Mostly, people who rape children below the age of 18 should be incarcerated for life. Again, the Ministry of Justice, while reviewing other laws that may be enacted under special laws should look at how to fix offences relating to recruiting people in illegal groups or extremist groups in the name of politics. This is now seen in one of the ongoing court cases in Kigali. The network was growing from family level to the innocent Rwandans who thought they were doing politics while in fact they were committing crime. The network involved communication companies where dishonest employees leaked the names and phone numbers of their clients to a person who misguided them. There should be a law in place that addresses such holistically. Yulian

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Penal code review timely