Thousands of people on Monday attended the trial of seven suspects, including six women, who are accused of attempted murder.

The Nyarugenge Intermediate Court chose to hear the case from a site close to the scene of crime and the multipurpose hall of Maison de Jeune Kimisagara in Kimisagara Sector was not large enough to accommodate neighbours and other people who thronged the venue.

Many followed proceedings from outside.  

The accused, Zaina Nkamiro and her younger sister Hadidja Umutoni, their male house help Kamanzi Cyiza, as well as Gisele Umulisa, Cony Umuhoza, Rosine Umuhoza and Zainabu Uwimana, are jointly standing trial over attempted murder.

Prosecution says the seven were all involved in a plot to murder Sandrine Mukamana, on February 16, during a visit to Nkamiro’s.

After about a whopping eight hours of hearing, prosecution prayed court to hand each one of them a 25-year sentence, and order them to pay Rwf100 million in damages.

The suspects pleaded not guilty to attempted murder but confessed to having battered and forcibly shaved Mukamana over a conflict she had with Nkamiro, who was her close friend.

Prosecution said that all the accused met at Zaina Nkamiro’s on the day she had invited Mukamana to a supposed lunch.

When Mukamana arrived at around 4p.m they stopped her on the balcony until they ushered her inside saying that food was ready.

When she entered, three of the accused were waiting for her inside and when she greeted them they didn’t respond, instead giving her a hostile look, court heard. That was the first sign of potential trouble for Mukamana.

When she reached her phone to inform friends that she wasn’t safe, her ‘hosts’ grabbed it from her.

Breaking the ice

That’s when Gisele Umulisa broke the ice. "Remind us, what killed Zaina’s mother?” she asked Mukamana. "So this the Mukamana who goes around claiming that your mother died of HIV/AIDS,” went another.

A scared Mukamana tried to deny what she was being accused of but Gisele Umulisa took a pair of scissors and suddenly started shaving her head.

When Mukamana attempted to resist and escape, the house help, Kamanzi Cyiza, pulled her back and forced her to the floor, saying "You are finished today, no one knows where you are, so calm down and let us do what we have planned.”

Overpowered, she resigned herself to her fate. Then two of the accused started forcibly shaving her head. One of them, court heard, gave Cyiza money to go and buy them a shaver (gillette). He returned with two of them.

On seeing this, Mukamana broke down. She tried to resist them from using the shavers on her head in vain. They all wrestled her down, Cony Umuhoza restraining her arms with Cyiza holding her legs. Rosine Umuhoza then put a cloth over her mouth to quiet her screams as the others shaved her bald.

Victim ‘was stripped naked’

While they violently shaved her head and eyebrows (inflicting injuries in the process), Rosine Umuhoza and Zaina Nkamiro were taking videos and photographs of the incident, prosecution said.

They then stripped her naked, leaving her with her underwear, and tore her clothes into pieces. She then lost consciousness. Realising that she had blacked out, they poured a basin full of water on her, and she was conscious again. "Why are you acting dead before we torture you as we planned? They asked her.”

Then, one of the accused took her phone and posted on Mukamana’s social media; "I am ending the year with Zaina and Giselle.” Its then that Mukamana’s family and friends then called her but the calls went unanswered.

Then they forced her to pick up one of the calls and tell the caller that she was fine. But when she answered the call, she couldn’t speak, instead she broke into tears, which alerted the person on the other side of the line to the fact that Mukamana was not safe.

Then the caller looked for the same driver who had driven Mukamana there for directions. On arrival in Kimisagara, they knocked on the gate but no one responded. Instead, loud music was blaring from speakers outside the house, so it was hard to hear what was going on inside.

‘They are women solving their problems’

Suddenly people converged outside the compound and started peeping.  They saw the victim lying on the floor, being beaten. 

Cyiza, the house help, with a glass of alcohol, finally opened the door. He was asked why the woman was being tortured, but he dismissed them saying, "leave them alone. They are women who are solving their problems.”

He then shoved the people off and locked the gate again.

But Mukamana’s friends and family, who were outside the gate, started calling for help from random passers-by.

Fortunately, a local security car passed by, and informed of the situation, they knocked several times, but the accused didn’t open.

Inside, the abuse continued. They took off her underwear, spread her legs and took pictures and videos.

Prosecution argued the footage are still on Zaina’s phone, which she declined to present.

The suspects, now aware that a crowd was swelling outside the gate, frantically swept the scene of crime to erase evidence.

They dressed her in a long Muslim dress to try to hide the abuse meted out to her.

Meanwhile, as the suspects beat her up, they would make her drink liquid she doesn’t know.  

Community health workers later made her throw up stuff prosecution argues was part of the plan to kill her.

Prosecution insisted that murder was not achieved because Mukamana was rescued before the offenders could reach their objective. Exhibits, including hair, shavers and ripped clothes, were recovered from the scene of crime and presented to court.

Pictures of a distraught looking Mukamana – with a shaven head – have been doing rounds on social media platforms, especially WhatsApp messaging app, in recent days showing physical torture marks on her body. Court heard that she could not make it for the hearing as she was in hospital.

Estranged friends’

Nonetheless, the suspects rejected the charge of attempted murder, but admitted and sought clemency over the offence of physical assault and forced head shaving.

Some claimed they were drunk when the incident occurred.

Their lawyers argued that if the suspects had wanted the victim dead she would not have survived on that evening.

Zaina Nkamiro said she was friends with Mukamana, but something happened and they stopped talking. She claimed that Mukamana "defamed” her late mother and tried to drive a wedge between her and her boyfriend.

She claimed that Mukamana went around telling people that her mother had died of HIV/Aids, and not diabetes as had been communicated by her family.

Later, Nkamiro said, the two tried to mend fences, which is how a ‘lunch date’ at Nkamiro’s was planned.

But when the day came Mukamana "delayed to arrive and I decided to invite my friends to come and we share what had been prepared for Mukamana.”

But then Mukamana finally arrived, she claimed.

And they confronted her with questions about Nkamiro’s mother and the rumours she was allegedly spreading, court heard.

The ‘guest’ rejected the accusation and instead blamed the rumours on Nkamiro whom she said had confided in their mutual friends about the cause of her mother’s death, court heard.

Nkamiro confessed to "hitting Mukamana on the buttocks” and claimed they did not strip her naked. The other suspects (except Umutoni and Cyiza who stay with Nkamiro) claimed they had been invited to Nkamiro’s home for lunch.

Court is set to deliver the verdict on Monday.