Court recalls witnesses in Col. Bayingana case

The Military Tribunal this week decided to recall witnesses in the trial of Col. Firmin Bayingana, the former commander of Marines of the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF). Bayingana was detained in April following allegations of interfering with a judicial process. During the three hour-long court hearing, the defence and prosecution failed to agree on the written submissions forcing the panel of judges to adjourn the trial for a week when the witnesses will appear. The three witnesses are Alloys Rujambi who was the Prison Director in Rubavu (former Gisenyi), his secretary, Consolee Gahongayire and Fred Mwesigye, the prison’s chief warden According to Military Prosecution, Bayingana directly or indirectly used his influence as a senior officer in the army, which led to an “unlawful” provisional release of businessman Leon Ngandu Munyaburanga back in 2005. “He neither received a bribe nor offered one, but it is clear he used his influence in this case,” said prosecutor Faustin Mukunzi, as he struggled to explain the influence peddling accusation against Bayingana. Mukunzi further explained that the former Marine Commandant is cited by witnesses as being among the people who came to Gisenyi prison on May 18, 2005, with a letter from Ruhengeri High Court ordering Munyaburanga’s immediate provisional release. Among the conditions for release were submitting of travelling documents and presenting a security worth Rwf 15m. Prosecution says that Bayingana’s presence led to the suspect’s immediate release without fulfilling the conditions and such a situation is interpreted as influence peddling. Both Bayingana and his lawyer Charles Shema maintained that there was no influence used to get Munyaburanga out of prison, since it was a court order and the witnesses themselves have denied being influenced by Bayingana or his presence. “I am innocent, I did not play any role in his (Munyaburanga’s) detention and release,” said Bayingana who appeared in court in full military uniform. Though admitting he was a regular visitor of the prison and well known to the director, the officer expressed doubts whether he was there on the date Munyaburanga was released, and denied having had any part in the process of his release. “This issue dates four years ago, I cannot exactly remember all the facts,” he said. “For instance I used to speak to the director of prison, but now I cannot recall whether I spoke to him exactly on that date about that issue.” Bayingana, 44, was on May 15, 2009 provisionally detained for 30 days to allow further investigations. Ends

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Court recalls witnesses in Col. Bayingana case