RWANDA: Kagame pardons juvenile delinquents

Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame has granted pardon to 16 juveniles who sat for their Primary and O’level national examinations. The 16 were serving time for rape, defilement, possession and abuse of drugs at Nyagatare Juvenile Prison. Twelve sat for National Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) while four sat for O’level exams. Over the years, Kagame has exercised his prerogative of mercy to grant early release to juvenile delinquents who excel in national exams.

In 2014 Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) in collaboration with Rwanda Education Board (REB), instituted that progamme to allow the young inmates to sit for examinations. The inmates do not access teachers from outside instead they are taught by both prison wardens and fellow inmates.

Education has been one of the most successful programmes used by the prisons service to rehabilitate inmates. The Rwandan criminal justice system had some reforms during the early 2000s.

These included that Rwandan government reconsidered some sentences in which people forgave their crimes. This began in 2003. Additionally, the death penalty in Rwanda was abolished in 2007.

This also set a precedent to the worldview of the death penalty. The Ministry of Justice says the progamme has been successful and pledged to include Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to impart complete character change into the young inmates.

The vocational training has always been informal as it is not recognised by the Workforce Development Authority (WDA), which is in charge of vocational education in the country. The Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye says that government will advocate for change, to ensure that trainees who undergo formal training, are examined and awarded certificates that are recognized by WDA.

According to the minister, the certificates will not necessarily state which institution the students sat from to ensure they are not subjected to stigma by prospective employees.