The owner of Goodrich TV, Dr Francis Habumugisha, Friday appeared in court over charges of assaulting his female employees, Diane Kamali and Mary Magdalene Nzaramba. Prosecutors alleged that on July 15th, Habumugisha assaulted Kamali after realizing that she was video-recording him abusing her workmate in a work meeting which he denied. “Upon realizing that he was being filmed, Habumugisha attacked and slapped Kamali before confiscating and damaging her phone”. In court, he denied all charges against him and added that he had been arbitrarily arrested and arraigned. While analysing the CCTV footage from the meeting, the prosecutor said that there were signs of intent and premeditation. The prosecutor went on to contend that the Goodrich TV boss should not be given bail, for he “can compromise evidence if released” as investigations are still underway. Habumugisha countered saying that the victims are his business rivals. He added that they represent unauthorized Ugandan-based pyramid companies and view his authorized company as a rival as a result of him being the only one with legal documents. “The two girls connived to have me in jail, alleging I am a spy, after sharing pictures of me with Rwandan officials,” he said. On the relation between business rivalry and his actions, Habumugisha said anger overcame him, as a result of recalling the conspiracy to have him arrested in Uganda, when he saw the girl recording and gave a “a small slap”. To support his bail application, Habumugisha said he was “a responsible citizen who serves his country and owns a lot of properties in the country”. Afterwards, he presented sureties. “I gave her much more than the phone costs”, Habumugisha told the court following his claim that both parties had amicably resolved the issue after he gave Kamali $300 to buy a new phone “which she said was worth 200,000rwf”. Dr. Francis Habumugisha was arrested on September 11th after Diane Kamali’s Tweet caught massive attention and President Paul Kagame promised to follow up on her case. Kamali had decided to post a CCTV video of the incident following “two months of no help” from the Rwanda Investigation Bureau. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
