Rwanda! Kalisa John na Pazo Man bahakanye ibyo gusakaza amashusho ya Yampano, Court reduces sentence for Kigali woman convicted of child-killing, Victoire Ingabire trial heads to Supreme Court for constitutional interpretation

Ishimwe Patrick uzwi nka Pazzo Man na Kalisa John uzwi nka K John bitabye urukiko rw’ibanze rwa Kicukiro kugirango baburane ku ifungwa n’ifungurwa ry’agateganyo ku byaha bakurikiranyweho byo gusakaza amashusho ya Yampano arimo gukora imibonano mpuzabitsina.

Aba bakekwa baburanishijwe kuri uyu wa kane tariki ya 04 Ukuboza 2025, ariko bari kuba baraburanye tariki 27 Ugushyingo 2025 urubanza rurasubikwa kuko Pazzo atari yiteguye kuburana.

Mu rubanza, aba basore bahakanye ibyo baregwa aho ku ruhande rwa Ishimwe Patrick uzwi nka Pazzo Man watawe muri yombi tariki ya 11 Ugushyingo, yavuze ko ayo mashusho ashinjwa atigeze ayatunga muri telefoni ye.

Umwunganira yasobanuriye umucamanza ko byari kwitwa ko ayafite iyo aza kuyakura kuri email (download) akajya muri terefoni ye. Pazo Man n’umwunganizi we, babona Yampano ari we wishyize hanze kuko kubika amashusho kuri email abizi neza ko abasha (Pazzo) kuyinjiramo afite umubare w’ibanga (password) cyane ko yari umujyanama, atari ikosa rye (Pazzo).

Uwunganira Pazzo Man kandi yavuze ko umuntu wa mbere wasakaje aya mashusho ari Yampano wayashyize kuri Email azi neza ko atariho wenyine, bityo asaba Urukiko ko rwategeka ko atangira gukurikiranwaho iki cyaha.

Ati: “Turasaba Urukiko ko mu bubasha bwarwo rwategeka ko Yampano atangira gukurikiranwaho gusakaza ayo mashusho kuko yayashyize kuri Email kandi abizi neza ko atariwe wenyine uyikoresha, ni we wa mbere wayasakaje.”

Ubushinjacyaha bwagaragaje ko muri raporo y’igenzura ryakozwe mu ikoranabuhanga basanze Pazzo Man ku wa 11 Ugushyingo 2025 yarandikiye uwitwa Dumba amusaba gusiba amashusho yose ya Yampano no kutongera kuyasakaza.

Ubushinjacyaha bwareze Kalisa John wamamaye nka KJohn kuba hari ifoto yafashe ayikuye mu mashusho (screenshoot) yoherereza Papa Cyangwe amubwira ko amashusho ya Yampano ari gutera akabariro yagiye hanze.

Ikindi Ubushinjacyaha bwagaragaje ko gituma bakurikirana KJohn ni ukuba yarasabye uwitwa Kwizera Nestor uzwi Pappy Nesta ayo mashusho ndetse akanayahabwa, bityo bukibaza umugambi wari wihishe inyuma utari ukuyasakaza.

Ubushinjacyaha bwagaragaje ko bufite umutangabuhamya witwa Ngabo Leon uzwi nka Njuga wavuze ko yahuriye na KJohn ari kumwe na Pazzo Man muri Restaurant bityo bakahamwerekera ayo mashusho.

Kalisa Joh uzwi nka Kjohn we yaburanye ahakana ibyaha aregwa ahamya ko muri Kamena 2025 ari bwo yabonye umuntu witwa Odette ashyize ku rubuga rwe rwa Whatsapp ifoto ya Yampano ahamya ko umuntu umuha amafaranga amuha amashusho ya Yampano ari gutera akabariro.

KJohn avuga ko akibona iyi foto yahise akora ‘Screenshoot’ ayoherereza Papa Cyangwe wari uherutse gukorana indirimbo na Yampano amubaza niba koko ibyo abonye ari impamo.

Papa Cyangwe na we ngo yahise aha Yampano ya foto amubwira aho ayikuye, ibi bikaba ari nabyo byatumye uyu muhanzi amenya ko amashusho ye yagiye hanze, akabona gutanga ikirego ku wa 9 Ugushyingo 2025.

Kalisa John yavuze ko iyo foto yoherereje Papa Cyangwe atari iy’urukozasoni kuko nta kintu kibi kiyigaragaraho. Avuga ko nyuma y’icyo gihe byabaye nk’ibihosheje icyakora mu Ugushyingo 2025 aya mashusho yongeye kujya hanze aba aribwo ayasaba.

Umunyamategeko wa KJohn yavuze ko kuba Kalisa John yarasabye amashusho akanayahabwa, bitagize icyaha kuko icyaha ari ukuyasakaza kandi we nta muntu yigeze ayasakazaho.

Ku rundi ruhande yaba Pazzoman cyangwa umwunganira mu mategeko, bagaragaje ko gusaba Ddumba gusiba ayo mashusho no kutongera kuyasakaza byari uburyo bwo kugabanya umurindi w’isakazwa ryayo cyane ko yari yamenye ko ari gukurikiranwa. Ubushinjacyaha bwabasabiye gufungwa imisi 30 y’agateganyo kuko hari impamvu zikomeye zituma bakomeza kuburana bafunzwe. Urukiko rukazasoma umwanzuro tariki ya 11 Ukuboza 2025 saa cyenda z’amanywa (15h00’).

Hari hitabye kandi abandi batatu baregwa muri iyi dosiye barimo Uzabakiriho Cyprien uzwi nka Djihad na Kwizera Nestor bakunda kwita Pappy Nestor batawe muri yombi ku wa 26 Ugushyingo 2026, ndetse na Ishimwe François Xavier watawe muri yombi mbere yabo gato ku wa 18 Ugishyingo, nabo bakurikiranyweho gukwirakwiza aya mashusho.

Gusa Urukiko rwategetse ko urubanza kuri aba bo rusubikwa kuko Ishimwe François Xavier yavuze ko nta mwunganizi mu mategeko afite. Urukiko rwanzuye ko uru rubanza ruzasubukurwa tariki ya 11 Ukuboza 2025.

Icyaha aba bakurikiranyweho gihanwa n’Ingingo ya 34 y’itegeko No 60/2018 ryo ku wa 22/8/2018, ivuga ku gushyira ahagaragara amashusho yerekeranye n’imikoreshereze y’ibitsina hakoreshejwe mudasobwa cyangwa urusobe rwa mudasobwa. Iyi ngingo ivuga ko Umuntu wese, iyo atangaje cyangwa atumye hatangazwa amashusho cyangwa amajwi yerekeranye n’imikoreshereze y’ibitsina binyuze ku rusobe rwa mudasobwa cyangwa ubundi buryo bw’ikoranabuhanga n’itumanaho; aba akoze icyaha

Iyo abihamijwe n’urukiko, ahanishwa igihano cy’igifungo kitari munsi y’imyaka itatu (3) ariko kitarenze imyaka itanu (5) n’ihazabu itari munsi ya miliyoni imwe y’amafaranga y’u Rwanda (1.000.000 FRW) ariko itarenze miliyoni eshatu z’amafaranga y’u Rwanda (3.000.000 FRW).

The High Court in Kigali has reduced the sentence of Solange Nyirangiruwonsanga, a 40-year-old woman previously handed a life sentence for the murder of a 9-year-old boy in Gasabo District. She will now serve 25 years in prison, following her appeal challenging the earlier ruling by the Gasabo Intermediate Court.

Nyirangiruwonsanga was employed as a domestic worker in the deceased’s home. The case was opened against her when the boy was found dead on June 12, 2022, in Karubibi Village, Cyaruzinge Cell, Ndera Sector.

The boy was found hanging from a door, with a piece of cloth tied around his neck.

The prosecutors argued that Nyirangiruwonsanga was responsible for the child’s death, noting that they had sufficient evidence to prove her involvement. The evidence included witness testimonies and her own confession, among other elements.

Why was the jail term reduced?

In its decision, the High Court said that although Nyirangiruwonsanga was convicted of murder, certain mitigating circumstances allowed for a reduction of sentence.

According to the court, this was her first conviction, and she is a mother with children to raise. The law allows a life sentence to be reduced when mitigating factors are present, though it cannot be lowered to less than 15 years. On these grounds, the court ruled to reduce her sentence from life imprisonment to 25 years.

Why was her claim of innocence rejected?

Nyirangiruwonsanga appealed the conviction, insisting she was innocent and that her confession during interrogation was obtained under duress. She also said the lower court ignored several facts during the trial.

She argued that the boy had been playing outside before the incident. “I told the court that he was playing outside, and I warned him to stop. Later, when I went inside the house, I found him lifeless,” she said.

However, the High Court dismissed the argument, citing her detailed confession to the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), in which she allegedly explained how she tricked the child, tied a piece of cloth to a door grill, made him stand on a chair, and pushed him, leading to his death.

Established jurisprudence affirms that statements made during interrogation can still hold value, even when later retracted during trial.

Circumstantial evidence presented by prosecutors included her behaviour after the incident, which the court said was inconsistent with someone surprised by a child’s accidental death.

The prosecutors added that the 9-year-old boy could not independently tie a rope at such a height and hang himself.

It was heard in the court during the appeal hearing that the door measured 1.80 metres in height, while the chair used measured 70 centimetres. The boy was 1.58 metres tall, which meant that he could not have reached the cloth without assistance.

The court concluded that her appeal lacked merit, affirming her guilt, but exercised its legal authority to adjust the sentence downward due to mitigating circumstances.

The Supreme Court has begun hearing a constitutional challenge filed by Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, who contests Article 106 of Nº 027/2019 of 19/09/2019, of the Law Relating to the Criminal Procedure.

Ingabire argues that the article violates several provisions of Rwanda’s Constitution, including Articles 29(2), 61, 142 (paragraphs 1 and 4), and 145 (paragraph 4).

The hearing, which began on Wednesday, November 12, centres on ex-convict Ingabire’s request to have the article repealed, claiming it undermines the independence of the judiciary and interferes with the prosecution’s functions.

Article 106 stipulates that if a court suspects that other people may have participated in a criminal offence or are accomplices to the accused, they may be summoned to provide explanations.

If, after questioning, the court finds evidence suggesting their involvement, it may order the Prosecution to open an investigation based on revelations made during the substantive trial.

Ingabire’s complaint stems from a High Court case involving a one Sylvain Sibomana and others, in which she was summoned under this provision.

The summons by the judge and subsequent questioning led to her arrest and later she was remanded, a decision later upheld on appeal. She now argues that her detention resulted from the unconstitutional application of Article 106.

She said that this provision interferes with the functioning of the prosecution and undermines the rights of the accused.

Ingabire maintains that she has a direct interest, as Article 106 was the legal basis for her arrest and detention. She further argued that even though the provision had been discussed in a previous case, it remains unconstitutional in its current form.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Office of the Attorney General urged the court to dismiss the case, arguing that the issue had already been adjudicated.

The state attorney cited the legal principle of ‘res judicata’, meaning that a matter already decided by a competent court cannot be retried between the same parties on the same issue.

However, Ingabire’s lawyer, Gatera Gashabana, countered that argument, saying that the state attorney’s claims were unfounded.

In the earlier case, only a paragraph of the article was examined, not the entire provision. He said that their petition seeks a comprehensive review of all the constitutional inconsistencies within Article 106.

The Supreme Court concluded the hearing and is expected to deliver its decision on January 16, 2026.