{"id":89986,"date":"2024-11-16T11:52:18","date_gmt":"2024-11-16T11:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about"},"modified":"2024-11-16T11:57:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T11:57:39","slug":"whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about","title":{"rendered":"What’s a suspended sentence all about?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Recently, the Kicukiro primary court sentenced Divine Nshuti Muheto, the reigning Miss Rwanda, to a three-month suspended sentence valid for one year, for charges of driving under the influence and without a license.<\/p>\n

Her case is not unique in Rwandan courts which have often issued suspended sentences in cases that could otherwise carry jail terms.<\/p>\n

For instance, in 2023, an individual identified as Evariste Tuyisenge, known on social media as \u201cNTAMA W’IMANA 2,\u201d received a three-year suspended sentence suspended in a year for posting a tweet that encouraged defilement.<\/p>\n

Another high-profile case involved former State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Isaac Munyakazi, who received a five-year suspended sentence.<\/p>\n

What the law says<\/p>\n

A suspended sentence is a judicial order that allows a convicted individual to avoid immediate imprisonment, under specific conditions and for a specified period, typically during probation.<\/p>\n

Under Rwandan law, this measure provides a form of sentencing where the convicted person may face jail time only if they commit another crime within the suspension period.<\/p>\n

According to lawyer Innocent Muramira, the suspended sentences are detailed in articles 64, 65, and 66 of a 2018 law which outlines general offences and penalties.<\/p>\n

Article 64 states that suspended sentences apply to prison terms not exceeding five years, based on the severity of the crime. A court must provide reasons for a suspended sentence and can suspend either all or part of the imprisonment. Notably, penalties like fines or community service cannot be suspended.<\/p>\n

Article 65 addresses the conditions under which a suspended sentence becomes void. \u201cIf, within a specified period (not less than one year and no more than five years), the convicted person refrains from committing further offences, the suspended sentence is nullified.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, if a new offence is committed, both the suspended sentence and the new penalty are combined and served concurrently.<\/p>\n

Article 66 clarifies that a suspended sentence does not exempt a convict from paying court costs, damages, or civic restrictions. However, the restriction on civic rights is lifted if the suspended sentence is nullified under article 65.<\/p>\n

Muramira explains that a suspended sentence does not imply innocence; it is simply a conditional deferment of punishment. After five years following a suspended sentence, a person may apply for legal rehabilitation, which can restore their eligibility for public office or other responsibilities that require a clean criminal record.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. Recently, the Kicukiro primary court sentenced Divine Nshuti Muheto, the reigning Miss Rwanda, to a three-month suspended sentence valid for one year, for charges of driving under the influence and without a license. Her case is not unique in Rwandan courts which have often issued suspended sentences in cases that could otherwise […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":89985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,14],"tags":[758],"class_list":["post-89986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat's a suspended sentence all about? - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Recently, the Kicukiro primary court sentenced Divine Nshuti Muheto, the reigning Miss Rwanda, to a three-month suspende ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What's a suspended sentence all about?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recently, the Kicukiro primary court sentenced Divine Nshuti Muheto, the reigning Miss Rwanda, to a three-month suspende ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-16T11:52:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-11-16T11:57:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/11\/sm_1731745567.852515.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"583\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"What’s a suspended sentence all about?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-16T11:52:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-11-16T11:57:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about\"},\"wordCount\":401,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2024\/11\/sm_1731745567.852515.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/policy\/whats-a-suspended-sentence-all-about\",\"name\":\"What's a suspended sentence all about? 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