At the beginning of the second week of the trial involving Victoire Ingabire and her co-accused in the High Court, prosecution yesterday told court that she instructed Maj Vital Uwumuremyi to recruit young people in the country to form a terrorist group.

Uwumuremyi, who is a former member of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia, is one of Ingabire’s four co-accused.

According to prosecutor, Bonaventure Ruberwa, after the FDLR militias informed Ingabire that they had broken away, she asked them to find ways of recruiting young people from within the country for subversive activities.

Prosecution claims that initially, Ingabire believed that instigation of insecurity in the country would compel the government to hold talks with the opposition.

In a statement by Major Uwumuremyi, Ingabire allegedly ordered them to recruit 200 youth from every province.

Uwumuremyi was allegedly the architect, alongside Ingabire, towards the formation of Coalition des Forces Democratique (CFD), an affiliate of FDU-Inkingi, Ingabire’s political party.

Ruberwa said that Ingabire told the commanders to recruit the youth for training and send them back into the country as they could not keep them in the DRC jungles for long.

The piece of evidence was brought up on the charge of forming an armed group with the aim of destabilising the country which is one of the six charges against Ingabire.

Other counts are; complicity to acts of terrorism, conspiracy against the government by use of war and terrorism, inciting the masses to revolt against the government, Genocide ideology and provoking divisionism.

Prosecution also said that Major Uwumuremyi testified to have received about US$ 3,000 from Ingabire, which he used to buy some arms and ammunitions after a breakaway from a battalion led by Lt. Col. Nditurende.

"Major Uwumuremyi, before the judicial police and prosecution, testified having received the money, in Goma, DRC via Western Union from Ingabire. He used it to buy some arms,” Ruberwa said.

At the opening of the case, Ingabire denied all the charges, saying that she was on trial for her political ideas and not crimes. All her co-accused have pleaded guilty and begged for clemency.

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