Moïse Turahirwa, the founder of the renowned fashion house Moshions, was on Thursday, June 15 granted bail by the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court. Turahirwa is facing charges of drug abuse.
Judge Liberatha Uwimana announced the ruling in a half-full courtroom that included members of the media, Turahirwa's friends, workmates, and family members.
However, the defendant and his lawyer Irene Bayisabe were absent.
Uwimana noted that certain aspects of the lower court's decision were modified, resulting in Turahirwa being granted bail. The judge emphasized that one of the conditions of bail is that Turahirwa's travel outside the country is restricted unless explicitly permitted by the Prosecution. Additionally, Turahirwa is required to report to the prosecution every Monday.
Turahirwa and his lawyer, Bayisabe, filed the appeal challenging the lower court's decision to remand him and presented three arguments supporting his appeal case.
They argued that the lower court, upon remanding Turahirwa, noted elements that had not been raised in the indictment or questioned during the proceedings.
They further argued that the court relied on a comment made on his Instagram page in which he declared that growing tobacco in Rwanda is lawful and affirmed his ownership of a plot of land in Nyungwe.
On that point, Uwimana said that during the court analysis, they found that Turahirwa was never questioned about the post or his involvement in promoting drug use among his followers. As a result, the court concluded that including this provision in the decision to remand him was a flaw in the previous judgment.
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Turahirwa had also argued in previous court sessions that the statements should not have warranted his remand and that the "small amount" of cannabis discovered at his residence was insufficient evidence to prove he knew of its existence.
Meanwhile, Uwimana also emphasized that there was a flaw in the sureties that was overlooked by the lower court. However, she argued that the court found it unnecessary for him to provide surety.
Turahirwa was previously charged with two offenses, forgery of documents, and drug abuse. However, the Lower Court declared that there was insufficient cause to suspect him of forgery of documents.
The prosecution presented evidence that included a fragment of cannabis found in a shirt within his room and tests conducted by Rwanda Forensic Laboratory, which confirmed he had illegally used cannabis, relating to the drug use charge.
