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Nyamwasa and Others v Republic of Rwanda (Application No. 016-2015)

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights · [2017] AfCHPR 126 · 2017 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for interim measures to prevent constitutional referendum
Decision
Application for interim measures dismissed as overtaken by events

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights dismissed an application for interim measures seeking to prevent Rwanda from holding a constitutional referendum to amend presidential term limits. The Court held that since the referendum had already been conducted on 17 December 2015 before the Court could rule on the request, the application for interim measures was overtaken by events and of no relevance.

Outcome

Application for interim measures dismissed as overtaken by events

Facts

Seven Rwandan citizens in exile in South Africa filed an application seeking interim measures to prevent Rwanda from conducting a constitutional referendum to amend Article 101 of the Constitution, which limits the President to two terms. The applicants alleged the amendment campaign was conducted in a climate of fear and that Rwanda's judiciary lacked independence. They sought orders preventing the referendum scheduled for 17 or 18 December 2015. The Court scheduled a public hearing for 25 November 2015, but the applicants requested a deferral due to travel difficulties. The referendum proceeded on 17 December 2015. Rwanda withdrew its declaration accepting the Court's jurisdiction on 29 February 2016, but the Court ruled this withdrawal did not affect pending cases.

Issues

  1. Whether the Court can grant interim measures to prevent a constitutional referendum that has already taken place.
  2. Whether the application for interim measures has been overtaken by events.

Orders

  • The Court cannot grant the interim measures requested.
  • The application is dismissed.

Rules and key headnotes

Interim Measures — Conditions for Grant — Extreme Gravity and Urgency
Pursuant to Article 27(2) of the Protocol to the African Charter and Rule 51(1) of the Rules of Court, the African Court may prescribe interim measures in cases of extreme gravity and urgency when necessary to avoid irreparable harm to persons, but such measures are ordered to prevent irreparable harm pending determination of an application on the merits.
Interim Measures — Application Overtaken by Events — Dismissal
Where an application for interim measures seeks to prevent an event from occurring, and that event has already taken place before the Court can rule on the request, the application is overtaken by events and must be dismissed as of no relevance.

Cases cited (2)

  • Lohe Issa Konate v Burkina Faso (Application No. 004/2013)
  • Ingabire Victoire Umuhoza v Republic of Rwanda (Application No. 003/2014)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Nyamwasa and Others v Republic of Rwanda (Application No. 016-2015) [2017] AfCHPR 126 (24 March 2017)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.