RPA MIN 00031/11/HC/MUS Page |1 THE MUSANZE HIGH COURT, SITTING IN MUSANZE AT ITS HEADQUARTERS, HEARING CRIMINAL CASE RPAMIN 0001/11 / HC / MUS ON APPEAL, ON 06/07/2011, DECIDES AS FOLLOWS: PARTIES APPELLANT: Nshimiyimana Anaclet, son of Ntwari Eugène and Nyiransabiyera, born in Budende village, Budende cell, Kiyumba sector, Muhanga District in the Southern Province in 1988, living in Gahondo village, Ruli cell, Ruli sector, Gakenke District in the Northern Province, Rwandan, single, has not been convicted by a court of law, and is being prosecuted and remanded in custody. DEFENDANT: The prosecution is represented by Mukagashugi Agnès, a national prosecutor. SUBJECT: Appeal against the judgment RPMin 0008/010 / TGI / MUS passed by the Musanze High Court on 20/12/2010 (the offense of rape is provided for and punishable by Article 16 of Law nº 59/2008 on Prevention and Punishment of Gender-Based Violence). II. FACTS AND PROCEDURE [1] Nshimiyimana Anaclet and Ndayambaje Jean de Dieu were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to rape Muhawenimana Verediyana. The police launched a preliminary investigation and handed over the case to the prosecution for further investigation, which decided to charge them with rape of a girl. [2] In the judgment RPMin 0008/010 / TGI / MUS passed on 20/11/2010, the Musanze High Court convicted Nshimiyimana Anaclet and Ndayambaje Jean de Dieu of rape of a girl named Muhawenimana Verediyana and sentenced Nshimiyimana Anaclet to five years in prison and Ndayambaje Jean de Dieu to three years in prison, both of whom were ordered to jointly pay 14,850 Frw. Nshimiyimana Anaclet was dissatisfied with the judgment and appealed to the Musanze High Court where his appeal was enrolled under RPAMIN 0001/11 / HC / MUS. In the course of the trial, two issues were considered by the court, the first of which is to determine whether the guilty plea was a mitigating circumstance justifying the reduction of the sentence imposed by the first instance court, and the second question is whether there was a reason of applying different punishments to Nshimiyimana Anaclet and Ndayambaje Jean de Dieu while they were co-authors of crime.