Emilienne case: threats against the Gitega Court of Appeal judge who acquitted her

Since the judgment handed down against Emilienne Sibomana on June 28, Anatole Manirakiza, judge of the Gitega Court of Appeal, has been living a permanent nightmare. All-out requests for explanations, exclusion of field visits, accusations of corruption, everything goes. Threats and intimidation have become Anatole Manirakiza’s daily life.

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On July 2, Anatole Manirakiza was called by the president of the Gitega Court of Appeal, Désiré Habonimana, to explain to the judges of this jurisdiction how he proceeded to clear Emilienne Sibomana’s name.

“A sort of humiliation in front of his colleagues who did not investigate the case and who are completely unaware of the merits of the trial,” estimates a source close to the case.

Two days later, on July 4, the same Désiré Habonimana sent a request for an explanation in relation to this decision to Anatole Manirakiza.

Worse, the prosecutor at the Gitega Court of Appeal, Félicité Nishemezwe, accused Anatole Manirakiza of having received a bribe of 1,500,000 Burundian francs to acquit Emilienne Sibomana.

“These are just gratuitous assertions without any proof,” protests the same source.

Other harassment

Anatole Manirakiza was scheduled for a week-long field trip to Karusi (east center) last July. He was removed from the mission order and then replaced by another judge from the same jurisdiction.

According to sources within the Court, these machinations explain why Emilienne Sibomana is still languishing in the central prison of Gitega (political capital), despite her acquittal.

Msc Michella Niyonizigiye, defense lawyer, speaks of violation of the laws.

She specifies that on July 17, she wrote to the attorney general at the Gitega Court of Appeal, to demand that her client benefit from a release ticket.

“Based on article 262 of the code of criminal procedure, the accused must first be acquitted, whatever the appeal,” she specifies.

As a reminder, Emilienne Sibomana is accused of slanderous denunciations.

On January 26 this year, during a meeting with the Minister of Education Francois Havyarimana, Ms. Sibomana, then secretary at Christ Roi de Mushasha high school in Gitega, revealed sexual abuse against female students. perpetrated by Father Laurent Ntakarutimana, director of this high school.