Rwandan President Paul Kagame has disagreed with the Supreme Court that ruled on Wednesday 24 April 2019 it was a criminal offense to insult or defame the Head of State.
According to a statement released Thursday 25 April 2019 from the Office of the President (Village Urugwiro), Kagame said his position has always been that “this should be a civil not a criminal matter.”
In the ruling, the supreme court removed:
Article 154: “Any person who publicly defames religious rituals, symbols and religious cult objects by use of actions, words, signs, writings, gestures or threats, whether carried out at the place where rituals are intended to be performed or where they are normally performed, commits an offense.”
Article 233: “Any person who, verbally, by gestures or threats, in writings or cartoons, humiliates a member of Parliament when exercising his/her mandate, a member of the Cabinet, security officers or any other person in charge of a public service in the performance or in connection with the performance of his/her duties, commits an offense.”
However, the same Court maintained article 236 that criminalizes insulting or defaming the president of the Republic which will attract punishments of up to a seven-year jail term and/or a fine of Rwf7 million.
The removed articles leave other Rwandan public officials in limbo in case they have been defamed, whereas the maintained article legally protects the Head of State, who is also a public official, against defamation and public insult.
The statement disagreed with the Supreme Court verdict thus;
“The President of the Republic respects the independence of the Judiciary and the recent Supreme Court decision. The President, however, takes issue with the decision to retain as a criminal offense, insult or defamation against the Head of State, who is also a public official.”
Richard Mugisha, a Kigali-based lawyer had petitioned Court challenging the constitutionality of the provisions. He also argued that the law was a hindrance to freedom of expression.
The statement instates hope for further debate on the controversial ruling.
“The President trusts that there will be further debate on this important matter,” it concludes.
