The Nyarugenge Intermediate Court has once again postponed the trial of Marie-Chantal Mukanzabarushimana, who is accused of murdering her step-daughter Elsie Akeza Rutiyombya, until June 22.

Akeza was found dead in a water tank at the family home in Busanza Cell, Kanombe Sector in Kicukiro District last year.

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Mukanzabarushimana, who was Akeza's stepmother and lived in the same home, was arrested shortly after the incident following a preliminary investigation that linked her to the girl's death.

During the hearing on Tuesday, April 18, Mukanzabarushimana's request to adjourn the trial due to emotional distress caused by the ongoing 29th commemoration of The Genocide against Tutsi in 1994 was granted by the presiding judge. The suspect was present in court with her lawyer.

The trial has been postponed twice before. The most recent session, originally scheduled for February 9, had to be postponed so that Mukanzabarushimana could find a lawyer. Prior to that, the hearing held on December 7, 2022, was adjourned because courts close at 5pm.

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The prosecution alleges that Mukanzabarushimana planned Akeza's murder, based on witness testimony from her maid. The maid stated that Mukanzabarushimana sent her to the shop several times to create an opportunity to be alone with Akeza, whom she subsequently drowned in the water tank. The prosecutor also claimed that Mukanzabarushimana was in conflict with her husband over his relationships with other women with whom he had children.

Akeza was born out of wedlock by Agathe Niragire and Florian Rutiyomba, who later married Mukanzabarushimana. However, the suspect denies having any involvement in Akeza's death, claiming to have had an alibi at the time the child was found dead as she was in the hospital.