Idrissa Ouedraogo and Ishimwe Vestine’s case adjourned over missing birth certificate

By The Inspirer.

Kicukiro Primary Court has adjourned a case in which Idrissa Ouedraogo is seeking DNA testing for a child he shares with his wife, Ishimwe Vestine, after her lawyer failed to upload the child’s birth certificate to the court’s electronic case management system.

The decision was made on October 14, 2026, just as the scheduled hearing was about to begin.

The case stems from a petition by Idrissa seeking a DNA test to establish the child’s biological parentage and an order requiring Ishimwe to present the child to him.

Arguments on the matter had reportedly concluded, but the court postponed delivering its ruling on October 7 after Ishimwe’s lawyer uploaded a document to the Electronic Case Management Information System (IECMS) on the morning of the scheduled decision.

The document was a letter addressed to the presiding judge in which Ishimwe’s lawyer indicated that he and his client had agreed to have the child undergo DNA testing, despite having previously opposed the request during court proceedings.

The letter prompted the court to postpone its ruling so that both parties could argue the issues raised in it before a decision was made.

Wednesday’s hearing was initially scheduled for 10 a.m., but Ishimwe’s lawyer had not arrived by the appointed time. Journalists covering the case were informed that the hearing had been moved to 11:30 a.m., before it was postponed again to 3 p.m.

However, the lawyer did not arrive until around 4 p.m., leaving journalists waiting for several hours.

He entered the courtroom, and proceedings began with the reading of the parties’ details and a review of the case’s status. A fresh obstacle then emerged: the child’s birth certificate, known in French as an acte de naissance, was missing from the electronic case file.

The court said the hearing could not proceed without the document. It questioned how a decision could be made regarding DNA testing when essential information about the child, including confirmation of the child’s existence and place of birth, had not been established, particularly given that Ishimwe had given birth in Canada.

Ishimwe’s lawyer attempted to explain why the document had not been submitted. However, the court indicated that he knew the certificate was required and accused him of delaying the proceedings.

The court subsequently fined the lawyer Rwf200,000.

It ordered that the case be heard again on October 21, 2026, at 11 a.m., giving the lawyer time to submit the missing birth certificate so the court can establish the relevant facts about the child before making a decision.