President Paul Kagame has urged newly appointed judges to uphold the rule of law and judicial independence in their day-to-day work.

The President delivered the message yesterday at Parliamentary Buildings in Kimihurura while officiating at the swearing-in of new judges of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the Commercial High Court. 

"The fair justice system in Rwanda is what gives confidence to citizens and foreign investors here to work knowing that their rights will be respected and everyone will be held accountable by the law,” he said.

He warned the judges against corruption telling them that they have a great responsibility to fulfill for the country.

"Our justice system should not be subject to corruption and the rulings of judges should not be influenced and should always be impartial,” Kagame said.

Judges who took oath yesterday include Aimé Kalimunda Muyoboke, the president of the newly created Court of Appeal, and Marie-Thérèse Mukamulisa, the court’s vice president.

The other judges of the Court of Appeal –also sworn in yesterday – include Charles Kaliwabo, Patricie Mukanyundo, Marie-Josée Mukandamage, Ruben Rugabirwa, Innocent Munyangeli, Alphonse Hitiyaremye, Justin Gakwaya, Alphonse Ngagi Munyamfura, Agnès Nyirandabaruta, Richard Muhumuza, and Fidelité Kanyange. 

The Court of Appeal was created to help bring about faster delivery of justice by limiting the number of cases that end up in the Supreme Court. 

The Court of Appeal will arbitrate, on appeal level, cases handled by the High Court, the Commercial High Court, and the Military High Court.

Its president and vice-president serve a five-year term of office renewable once, while the rest of its judges have no fixed term.

Some of the judges at the Appeal Court, including Muyoboke and Ngagi, both veteran university lecturers, and Muhumuza, a former prosecutor-general, have been serving as judges in the Supreme Court. 

Kaliwabo joins the Appeals Court after serving as president of the High Court, a position now held by his former deputy Xavier Ndahayo, who also took the oath of office yesterday.   

Also sworn in are former Ombudsman Aloysie Cyanzayire, who rejoins the Supreme Court as a judge; former deputy Ombudsman, Bernadette Kanzayire, who joins the High Court as its vice-president; and Angeline Rutazana, who assumed the role of the vice-president of the Commercial High Court.

After taking the oath of office, the president of the Court of Appeal, Aimé Kalimunda Muyoboke, said that the court is ready to fast-track trials that have been pending at the Supreme Court. 

"The duty at hand right now is to give fair justice to all Rwandans, fight injustice, and deliver services in line with the current vision of the country,” Muyoboke said.

He said the court is looking to fast-track hearings for about 1000 cases it inherited.

The law provides that each of the 13 judges of the court can hear and adjudicate a case individually.

Muyoboke also said that delivery of quality justice will be critical in clearing the current case backlog. 

"Without delivery of quality justice, we can’t end the backlog of cases because badly handled cases would keep coming back for retrial as the involved parties seek justice,” he said in an interview.

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