Africa
Rwanda Lady Faces Two Years In Jail For ‘Shameful’ Dressing In Public
A 24-year-old woman who was arrested in Rwanda for wearing “shameful” clothing faces up to two years in jail for “public indecency”, prosecutors said Thursday.
Liliane Mugabekazi was arrested on August 7 after she attended a concert by popular French musician Tayc eight days earlier, wearing a sheer dress.
UPDATE: Mugabekazi Lilliane, 24, who appeared in viral photo, in court today facing charges of indescent dressing. The photo was taken at concert in Kigali. However, her lawyer asked the court for the case to be heard in camera. Government has vowed to tame indescent dressing pic.twitter.com/sGCyOEoVki
— The Chronicles (@ChroniclesRW) August 18, 2022
“She attended the concert while wearing clothes that reveal her private parts… clothes that we call shameful,” prosecutors said, accusing her of committing a “serious crime”.
“It is on these serious grounds that we ask the court to remand Mugabekazi for 30 days.”
#RwandaPolice reminds the public that nudity, public indecency and serving alcohol to underage children is punishable by law.
We urge parents to educate and protect their children from these acts.
— Rwanda National Police (@Rwandapolice) August 18, 2022
“She is suspected to have committed public indecency,” the spokesman for the prosecution, Faustin Nkusi, told AFP, adding that the court would announce on Tuesday whether she would receive bail.
News of the arrest sparked outrage among some Rwandans, but government officials including former justice minister Johnston Busingye backed the move.
Ms Sylvie,
My 2018 response was to a specific case, at the time.The current issue of
our young men & women who drink & drug themselves unconscious, appear in public literally naked is objectionable.I support the efforts of leaders,RNP, parents,youth,media etc to address it. https://t.co/KAE3NjABbg
— Busingye Johnston (@BusingyeJohns) August 15, 2022
“The current issue of our young men and women who drink and drug themselves unconscious, appear in public literally naked is objectionable,” tweeted Busingye, who is now Rwanda’s ambassador to Britain.
“I support the efforts… to address it.”
In a TV interview last week police spokesman John Bosco Kabera rebuked what he called “immorality and indecency among young people.”
“This problem is escalating… you find an individual wearing only a shirt only… without pants or shorts,” he said.
“These people then go to public places dressed like that, with clothes that look like nets.”
When the programme host asked him if “such people did not have a right to dress as they please,” he responded: “The first right is to dress well, not dressing indecently.”
In recent years many Rwandans have fallen foul of the country’s strict indecency laws.
In March, police arrested a 20-year-old woman for “public drunkenness and indecent assault” after a video of her lying on the ground in an alcoholic stupor circulated on social media.
The East African nation’s rights record has been sharply criticised by campaigners, who accuse President Paul Kagame’s government of crushing any dissent.
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