Musanze Intermediate Court on Wednesday postponed the substantive trial of an assault case involving four grassroots leaders and security personnel attached to District Administrative Security Support Organ (DASSO), all operating in Musanze District. The suspects are Jean-Paul Sebashotsi Gasasira, the executive secretary of Cyuve Sector and Jean-Léonidas Tuyisabimana, the executive secretary of Kabeza Cell from the sector. Others are Anaclet Nsabimana, Sylvain Abiyingoma and Martin Maniriho are security officers under DASSO. The officials were on May 14th 2020 caught on video that went viral on social media bettering two residents who reportedly did not wear face masks as a directive in place to fight Covid-19. The substantive trial that was set to kick off on Wednesday was postponed after Sebashotsi, the prime suspect, did not show up in court. His lawyer, Benjamin Cyiza, who was present, told the court that he had learnt in the morning that his client was sick. However, prosecutor Edouard Hagenimana underscored that there was no evidence that to prove Sebashotsi was sick. He also noted that the accused had also been hesitant to show up in court and had refused to sign the summons that he was sent, which the prosecutor said is evident in the paperwork filed in the judicial electronic system. Maniriho, another member of DASSO who was arrested days after his co-accused, also told court that he was not ready for trial as he was yet to get a lawyer. After examining all the submissions, court decided to reschedule the substantive trial to Monday, June 29, 2020. The court announced that during the same proceeding, they will also decide on a compensation lawsuit filed by the assault victims whom the prosecutor identified as Clarisse Nyirangaruye and Jean-Baptiste Manishimwe, both residents of Cyuve Sector. Four of the suspects had on June 10, been granted bail by Musanze Intermediate Court but were rearrested a day after from the compound of Musanze prison on their way out for separate charges of bribery. Subsequently, the suspects dragged law-enforcement agencies to court over what they called illegal arrest – a case that Musanze Intermediate Court threw out on Wednesday.
