The military court in Kigali on Monday remanded 25 fighters who were arrested recently during military operations in Eastern DR Congo before being handed over to Rwanda.
The group of suspects led by the retired Major of the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) Habib Mudathiru is also comprised of Rwandans, Burundians, Ugandans, and Malawians,.
The group of 25 terrorist suspects were remanded for 30 days pending investigations, citing concerns that they may flee the country and the weight of their alleged crimes.
The suspects were charged on four counts, including belonging to an illegal armed outfit, treason, forming an illegal army, and plotting with foreign countries to destabilize Rwanda.
During the pre-trial hearing, prosecution said that all the suspects were facilitated mainly by Uganda and Burundi to join the ‘P5’ outfit whose activities are detailed in a report by the UN Group of Experts published in December last year.
P5 comprises the Amahoro People’s Congress (AMAHORO-PC), the Forces Démocratiques Unifées-Inkingi (FDU INKINGI), the People’s Defence Pact-Imanzi (PDP-IMANZI), the Social Party-Imberakuri (PS IMBERAKURI) and the Rwanda National Congress (RNC).
Following an earlier stalemate between Prosecutors and Lawyers on whether the Military Tribunal has the competence to try 25 militias linked to Rwanda National Congress (RNC), Judges finally ruled in favour of Prosecution, stating that the court has the jurisdiction to try the individuals.
Kayumba Nyamwasa is a former head of the Rwandan military who was in 2011 sentenced in absentia to 24 years in prison after he was convicted of multiple charges, including terrorism, genocide denial and crimes against humanity.
CU/Dng/APA