Prosecution has asked court to hand a 25-year jail term to Callixte Nsabimana, the former spokesperson and second vice president of MRCD-FLN, a DR Congo-based terror outfit that killed scores and left many injured in southwestern between 2018 and 2019.

The terror attacks were carried out in different parts of the country on different dates, but the most gruesome ones took place on June 19 and December 15, 2018, where at least nine unarmed civilians lost their lives and many injured in Nyaruguru and Nyamagabe districts.

The first major attack was carried out in Nyabimata, Nyaruguru District, with two people dying on the spot, while a third victim succumbed to gunshot wounds later.

The second attack targeted public transport with the assailants ambushing at least three buses on Kigali-Rusizi highway, killing at least six passengers in Nyungwe forest, at Kitabi, Nyamagabe District, just a few days before Christmas.

Prosecutors present Callixite Nsabimana’s penality at the High Court Special Chamber for International and cross-border crimes in Kigali on Wednesday, June 16. Photo: Sam Ngendahimana.

Following the incursions, several arrests were made of individuals allegedly behind them, among them Nsabimana, who called himself Sankara, and Paul Rusesabagina, the founding president of the MRCD coalition.

In addition, a number of FLN combatants were captured during a military offensive by the Congolese military against armed groups, and were later handed over to Rwandan authorities.

All these are being tried in a joint case before the High Court Specialised Chamber for International and Cross Border Crimes.

On Wednesday, June 16, prosecutors began making their final submissions in the substantive trial that has been under way since the beginning of the year.

It is at this level that prosecutors will be making proposition for the jail time they think is commensurate with the crimes individual suspects stand accused.

Starting with Nsabimana, the first among the group to be taken into custody, prosecutors sought a 25-year prison sentence, which, according to them is a smaller penalty for him, due to the fact that he admitted to the fact that he is guilty, and collaborated with court by providing a lot of information during the trial.

According to the prosecutors, they would have asked for life sentence but the suspect’s effort to assist court was a mitigating factor that called for a lesser sentence.

The charges for which prosecution wants 25 years for Nsabimana include; forming an illegal armed group, being part of a terror group, terrorism based on political motives, conspiracy and encouraging others to commit terror, murder as an act of terrorism, genocide denial, minimization of the Genocide against the Tutsi, among others.

Wednesday’s hearing also involved a session where a number of people affected by MRCD-FLN’s terror activities narrated to court about the ordeal they passed through, and the effects of the attacks on their lives.

Among these was Alice Kayitesi, a survivor of the Nyungwe attacks, who asked court to allow her to meet face to face with Rusesabagina and Nsabimana.

Kayitesi was shot in the leg but also sustained more injuries as she and other survivors tried to hide in the jungles, in order to escape from the FLN assailants.

Though she survived, her life may never be the same as she sustained back injuries, which can't allow her to stand for long, nor effectively work well as she used to, in addition to other things like wearing high-heeled shoes like other young women.

"I had a dream of completing my studies, make good money and live well. I am only a Rwandan child who wanted a good life. But some people decided to change that. They really changed the course of my life," she said sobbingly.

The trial resumes on Thursday, June 16, and prosecution is expected to ask for penalties for more suspects.