New Ombudsman outlines priorities

A few days after being sworn in as the new Chief Ombudsman, Aloysia Cyanzaire has said that several proposals, some of which are still before parliament , will strengthen her office to be able to execute its mandate of fighting corruption and injustice.In an exclusive interview with The New Times, the former Chief Justice said that some of the legislations include giving her office the authority to request Supreme Court to review a case, much as it may have exhausted all legal avenues. “In case a person feels there was foul play during the proceedings in the courts, and petitions us, this is also provided for in the new law governing the functioning of the Supreme Court, where there is a provision outlining the conditions which the Ombudsman may base on to recommend trial,” said Cyanzaire. She said that once a case is recommended and fulfils all conditions required, it will only be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Cyanzaire, the first Rwandan woman to serve as Chief Justice, said that the reason behind this decision was based on several cases that came up where litigants were found to have been judged unfairly in courts either by omission or commission.She also elaborated on the law that is before parliament which seeks to give the office the powers to prosecute some cases that she insisted will be “of extremely rare nature.” Instances where these powers will be dispensed, once the law is out, is in a case where prosecutors are the ones being charged for corruption or in a case where a corruption-related case needs to be urgently dealt with and prosecutors yet are not capable to deal with it due to heavy workload. “This should, however, not be misconstrued to mean that we are usurping the powers of the Office of Prosecutor; these are going to be extremely exceptional cases.”

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New Ombudsman outlines priorities