On February 22, the Supreme Court sent city tycoon François-Xavier Mironko to jail for acting in contempt against the judges. He is said to have shown contempt both in writing and action, where he criticised the judges of bias, in addition to refusing to adhere to an earlier order to use an expert in his case. Rwandan law has various clauses that talk about proper behaviour in court and warns against acts that can amount to contempt of court. But what is contempt of court, and what are the acts that may be regarded as contempt? In an exclusive interview, a retired judge at the intermediate level who requested anonymity told The New Times that there are many acts that can be considered contempt of court. These may include verbal abuse against judges, other court officials, or anyone attending the court session, persistent refusal to adhere to what a judge requires during a hearing (for example keeping quiet, being polite, or even proper sitting and use of equipment like cameras and phones). It also includes physical abuse against any person attending the court session. “There are many such acts. I will not say I have a list of all of them. The judge has the power to punish a person who does not respect the court,” the judge said. She noted that in some instances, the judge can just request the security personnel to take the offender out of the courtroom. However, in others, it is necessary to issue punishments. “It depends on how it has been done and the chaos it has caused in the courtroom. There are some behaviours that you look at as a judge and think, ‘is it enough to just tell them to get out of court?’ For example, if a person verbally abuses the court or beats their fellow litigants, you cannot just throw them out of the courtroom without issuing a punishment,” she said. According to article 260 of the penal code, “any person who insults or causes violence to an investigator, a prosecutor, a judge, an advocate, a state attorney, a court clerk, a court bailiff, a community mediator (umwunzi) or an arbitrator on duty or in connection with his or her duty, with an intention to disgrace his or her dignity or respect, by words, gestures or threats, writings or by the image of any nature, commits an offence.” Upon conviction, the offender is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than two years, and a fine of not less than one million Rwandan francs and not more than two million Rwandan francs. “If the insults or violence are expressed during a court hearing, the penalty that applies is imprisonment for a term of not less than two years and not more than three years,” the article further reads. Three articles about such have also been introduced relating to the civil, commercial, labour and administrative procedure. Innocent Muramira, a Kigali-based lawyer, told The New Times the court is referred to as “a temple of justice” and, therefore, people who attend hearings are obliged to be respectful. The retired intermediate-level court judge we interviewed also said Mironko’s case is not the first where a person has been punished for contempt of court. She said some other cases have happened in the past. Harrison Mutabazi, the judicial spokesperson, called upon people court attendees “to adhere to courtroom decorum and desist from any act that may tantamount to contempt of court.”
