Lawyers representing Emmanuel Mbarushimana, a genocide suspect extradited from Denmark in 2014, have raised concerns over his continued lack of cooperation in the preparation of his case.

Appearing before the Special Chamber for International Crimes at High Court on Thursday, Mbarushimana’s counsels; Shoshi Bizimana and Christopher Twagirayezu, said they would need more time to put together his defence due to the problem.

The lawyers were provided by the Rwanda Bar Association after he declared himself indigent, meaning he could not afford his own counsel.

"We need at least two and half months to locate witnesses and a similar time for interviews. Normally we would not need that much time but the problem is that our client is not cooperative, meaning that we have to do this without his help,” said Twagirayezu.

He said they would need to make several trips to remote places like Dahwe, Gisagara, Kabuye, Ndatemwa in the Southern Province where the suspect allegedly committed the crimes.

"Since the suspect was extradited from Denmark, the prosecution had ample time to gather all incriminating evidence and I believe we deserve the same,” he added.

However, judges sought precision from the lawyers on their timeline, saying they needed to justify their request for five months with a work schedule showing what they would be doing during that period.

Twagirayezu said if their request was granted, they would submit the schedule complete with the names and location of prospective witnesses.

However, John Bosco Mutangana, representing the prosecution, said there was no justification for the time requested since all the places the alleged crimes were committed are very close to each other.

"For instance, from Dahwe to Gisagara it’s the same distance between Kacyiru and the Central Business District (Kigali), it’s not a difficult place to reach and geographically not mountainous to hamper their movement,” said Mutangana.

Mbarushimana was silent throughout the trial, but when asked for his reaction, he demanded that his lawyers be replaced, saying he did not trust them.

However, the presiding judge said court had already pronounced itself on the matter, and that the lawyers, who are paid by the state through the legal aid fund, will continue representing him because they were recommended by the Bar.

The Court has set February 18 as the date to rule on the defence lawyers’ request.

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