Scribes appeal, claim unlawful detention

The trial involving two local scribes and an accomplice has taken another turn with the trio appealing in the High court against continued detention.The verdict in the alleged extortion case is set to be pronounced in two weeks.
In the appeal the trio has referred to the 30 day provisional detention as unlawful.

Early this month Nyarugenge court of Higher Instance had remanded the accused at Kigali Central prison, just after they had appeared in court for the trial in which they were accused of blackmailing a doctor.

The trio has since opposed their detention, saying it was unlawful for the court to hear the case before debating on a possible provisional detention.

The case involves Contact FM presenter Frank Kalisa popularly known as ‘K’ and Assoumani Niyonambaza, the publisher of a vernacular tabloid Rugari and Richard Rutagwenda.

According to the appellants, their trial in substance was held before their bail application was heard making their detention illegal.

The ruling for their substantive trial is set for early next month at the Nyarugenge court.

"The judge decided to provisionally detain us while it was not the case brought to him by prosecution, and we were not given a chance to express ourselves on that,” Kalisa pleaded with the Nyamirambo-based High Court yesterday.

Flanked by his defence lawyer Etienne Kazeneza, Kalisa calmly recounted how the saga unfolded and how his involvement was never connected to money exchange until he was forced by the police to do so saying it was a matter of national interest.

"We are imprisoned on the basis of something we were not tried for,” insisted Rutagwenda who, according to prosecution, acted as a conduit between the alleged victim and Niyonambaza.

All the accused repeatedly maintained that the whole matter was made up by the police itself and that they are innocent of the charges against them.

It is alleged that the trio connived in blackmailing the doctor and extorting from her of Rwf500,000 so that they could ‘kill’ a story that was meant to be published in Niyonambaza’s newspaper.

Niyonambaza vehemently insisted that prosecution did not provide sufficient reasons that would make them remain in detention, adding that all that the entire file against them was manipulated by police to tarnish their names.

But prosecutor Alain Mukuralinda maintained that prosecution had explained all the reasons for their detention and that the accused were given time to plead their case before the judge decided to remand them.

Insisting that all the accused were caught red handed as they did not know in advance that police was watching them, Mukuralinda told the court that there were good reasons to suspect the trio would evade justice if given a chance.

"Prosecution sought 10 years of imprisonment against these people…who would not try to escape that if at all any possibility arose?” he questioned amid murmurs from the audience.

The session presided over by Athanase Bakuzakundi ruled that the decision on this appeal would be pronounced on Friday July 31.

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