KIGALI - The former Managing Director of Horizon Group, Lt. Col. Paul Semana, yesterday refuted claims made by two experts saying they didn’t consider technical expertise when making their assessment.

Semana and his co-accused are accused of performing shoddy work in the construction of Gashora Dyke that led to loss of Rwf 500m.

In his defence, he told the military tribunal that, "the experts did not consider the slopping down and upward nature of the Dyke,” and that the findings came out in 2009, three years after the Dyke was built.

"There is a depression, and the soil used to build any road or Dyke can be pressed down, it can also be washed a way by cars, rain and other factors, so the amount of soil cannot remain constant,” Semana stressed.

He said the experts did not consider the expansion and contraction factor after three years giving an example of Gatuna road they used to renovate every year because of downgrading.

"Every engineer can testify that, there is always some sort of downgrading of a road. Besides, according to the contract we signed with the Ministry of Agriculture, we were supposed to build a Dyke three metres high, meaning that below the surface would be one metre and the rest would be above the surface, instead of four which is alleged by the prosecution,” Semana explained to the tribunal.

The embattled military officer said that according to his calculations, they exceeded the amount of soil required in the contract.

The next hearing is scheduled for Monday January 25.

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