Fight illegal juvenile detention in Burundi

IBJ obtained the acquittal of a juvenile under the risk of a life sentence

Miss Chantal Manirakiza (on the right) with two other women (all assisted by Janvier Ncamatwi), after the acquittal decision.

Miss Chantal Manirakiza is 17 years old. She had sex with an unknown person and became pregnant. Sadly, she miscarried after four months of pregnancy. This happened after she worked a long, hard day. In the evenings, before the end of her pregnancy, she felt very tired and uneasy. Without knowing what was about to happen, she alerted her mother, and discovered the fetus has left her womb. She was then arrested on May 4th, 2012 and taken to the prison of Muramvya under the charge of infanticide. Before she went into custody, she was in the 9th year of her secondary school studies. She resided in Muramvya, one of the 17 provinces of Burundi, where she lived with only her mother.
Janvier Ncamatwi, one of IBJ's legal fellows, met her while he was visiting on behalf of IBJ in the prison of Muramvya on July 5th, 2012. He had become aware of her situation and decided to provide her with legal assistance.

In the public hearing held on July 11th, 2012, Chantal was given life imprisonment by the prosecution as the penalty for the crime she was accused of. This was reenforced by Section 212 of Burundian Penal Code, which says anyone who kills their own child is punished with life  imprisonment.  But, the same code says that a child between 15 and 18 years old cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment. In this circumstance, the penalty is reduced to only a ten year sentence.

So, Janvier Ncamatwi successfully assisted the juvenile with legal counsel and on the 31st of August, the court of Muramvya found Chantal innocent. Thus, an acquittal decision was made. After this ordeal, the young girl is in strong need of social assistance to allow her to go back to school and continue with her studies. She says that her single mother is not able to afford school materials and fees because she was not prepared for the acquittal of her daughter.

IBJ is calling on the help of other organizations to provide her with social assistance to continue her studies.
This case was dealt with rapidly by the court of Muramvya because of the collaboration of IBJ lawyers and Muramvya criminal justice stakeholders as one of outcomes of IBJ roundtable events conducted in the area.  Consequently, a child who would have been a victim of an unjust imprisonment walks free. This is what IBJ intends to offer hundreds of other children in conflict with the law in Burundi.