Two new judges of the Supreme Court and one of the Court of Appeal are today expected to be sworn in. It is expected that President Paul Kagame will preside over the function at the Parliamentary Building in Kimihurura. The judges to be sworn are Alphonse Hitiyaremye and Francois-Regis Rukundakuvuga for the Supreme Court while Venantie Tugireyezu will take oath as a judge at the newly created Court of Appeal. According officials from the judiciary, the new judges in the Supreme Court will replace those who have since retired from the bench, while Tugireyezu is replacing Hitiyaremye who has returned to the highest court. Hitiyaremye, 52 started his career in 1997 worked in different positions mainly in the judicial sector. Judge Alphonse Hitiyaremye. He has only been at the Court of Appeal for eight months in the court of appeal. He had previously been a judge at the Supreme Court, where he had served for five years. Before that, he was deputy prosecutor general. Rukundakuvuga served for over ten years as an Inspector General of Courts. Tugireyezu has also previously served in senior capacities, including as a Minister in the office of the President. Venantie Tugireyezu. Speaking to The New Times, Hitiyaremye said that he is ready to work with other judges to provide fair and timely justice for Rwandans. “We will be working as a team to enforce laws and to fulfill the Supreme Court’s responsibilities to serve not only Rwandans but also everyone who live in the country,” he said. All the three judges were recommended to their respective positions by a cabinet meeting earlier this month, and have since been approved by the senate. Rwanda inserted the Court of Appeal in the judicial system in August 2018 to help bring about faster delivery of justice by reducing the backlog of the Supreme Court and thereby cutting the time a case spends in court. The Court of Appeal arbitrates, on appeal level, cases handled by the High Court, the Commercial High Court, and the Military High Court. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
