Rwandan courts have imposed alternative sentences in 4,474 criminal cases since 2018, with the number peaking at 1,462 cases in 2024, according to data from the Judiciary.
The figures, covering cases decided between 2018 and August 30, 2026, show a sharp rise in the use of alternatives to imprisonment before the number declined over the past two years.
Courts imposed alternative sentences in 13 cases in 2018, 368 in 2019, 326 in 2020, 339 in 2021 and 464 in 2022.
The number increased to 804 cases in 2023 and reached a record 1,462 in 2024. It then fell to 584 cases in 2025 and 114 cases by the end of August 2026.
Community service is among the alternative sentences provided for under Rwanda’s criminal procedure law.
Law No. 058/2023, which amended the 2019 law on criminal procedure, allows courts to impose community service as a principal sentence. When imposed as a principal sentence, the period set by the court cannot exceed six months.
Community service can also replace part or all of a prison sentence in certain circumstances. For offences carrying a sentence of more than six months but not exceeding five years, a court may order a convicted person to serve part of the sentence through community service for a period of up to two years.
For offences carrying a prison sentence of less than six months, community service may be imposed for a period not exceeding the maximum prison term prescribed for the offence.
A convicted person who deliberately fails to properly perform the community service may be required to serve the remaining prison sentence in a correctional facility.
Presidential Order No. 022/01 of March 31, 2023, provides the framework for implementing community service sentences.
Under the system, the Rwanda Correctional Service prepares a list of people sentenced to community service and submits it to the relevant districts. District authorities then notify those sentenced of when they should report to the RCS to receive their assigned work.
The RCS can also temporarily suspend a community service sentence where a person develops a physical or mental disability, suffers from an illness that prevents them from performing the work, or is pregnant and performing the sentence could endanger her health or that of her unborn child.
The increased use of alternative sentences is part of efforts to limit the number of people serving prison terms and ease pressure on correctional facilities.
A report by the National Commission for Human Rights found that overcrowding in Rwanda’s correctional facilities fell by 24.3% in the 2024/2025 financial year, from 134.3% to 110%.
The rate fell further to 103.6% by the end of August 2025 and reached 97.2% by March 2026, according to the latest figures cited in the report.
