Suspects in Nyamagabe murder case denied bail

A JUDGE at Nyamagabe Intermediate Court has denied bail to two women accused of killing a Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) personnel last year.

Friday, November 15, 2013

A JUDGE at Nyamagabe Intermediate Court has denied bail to two women accused of killing a Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) personnel last year.Dative Uwamahoro, 30, is accused of killing her husband, Corporal Francois Minani, 34, whose body was found in a family pit-latrine after nearly a year of searching for his whereabouts. Her co-accused, Claudine, Mukeshimana, a resident of Kamonyi District, was charged with conspiracy to the murder and concealing information that could have led to the arrest of the suspect earlier.The two were arraigned before the court on Wednesday.At their appearance in court, prosecutor Oscar Butera asked for a 30-day period of provisional detention to allow more investigations into the murder. The suspects had applied for bail.Judge Athanase Yaramba concurred with the prosecution on grounds that the duo is accused of serious crimes and that letting them out would compromise the investigations.He also ruled that there is no guarantee that the accused two would not flee justice since the prime suspect was arrested as she attempted to flee.How Minani was killedMinani went missing in December, last year, from his home village of Cyibumba, Masangano Cell in Musange Sector of Nyamagabe District.Detectives had been seeking clues to his whereabouts.After he went missing, earlier reports suggested that he might have fled the country but subsequent investigations failed to establish any reason to back up such a possibility. It was not until November 4 that detectives finally recovered his decomposed body in his home pit-latrine.During the pre-trial hearing, Uwamahoro pleaded guilty to the charges of murder, while her co-accused pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, but acknowledged that she did nothing to provide authorities with information about the murder. Uwamahoro told the court that there was a serious misunderstanding between her and the deceased because of suspicions of infidelity.In the night of September 1, 2012, their quarrel degenerated into a fight, the woman told the court. The court heard that at first Uwamahoro first hit Minani with a stool on the head before finishing him off with a machete. She then wrapped the body in clothes and dumped it in their pit-latrine.The prosecution argued that further investigation is needed to ascertain whether the woman acted alone or had accomplices in the murder