The High Court will tomorrow announce its decision on the case involving Jean Uwinkindi who appealed against a decision by Nyarugenge Intermediate Court to remand him in prison for 30 days.Uwinkindi, a former pastor with the Pentecostal Church in Kanzenze, Bugesera, is accused of unleashing killers on thousands of his congregation who had sought refuge at the church during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.The suspect, who appeared in court last week, argued that there were some errors in the lower court’s decision and that the magistrate’s decision was also premised on facts that were not highlighted by prosecution during the hearing.In a dramatic twist of events, the suspect claimed that the court stripped him of his title of pastor by not addressing him as Pastor Uwinkindi.His lawyers Gatera Gashabana and Jean Baptiste Niyibizi requested court to try him while out of detention. In its arguments, prosecution referred to a law concerning the transfer of Genocide suspects to Rwanda by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), under which he was transferred from the Tanzania-based UN court.Uwinkindi is supposed to be tried by a special chamber at the High Court, designated for transferees from the ICTR and throughout the trial, he has to be detained at a special holding facility at Kigali Central Prison.His previous appearance before the intermediate court was procedural but the case will only go to the specialised chamber for substantive hearing after issues such as bail are dealt with.The decision to transfer Uwinkindi was first made in June 2011 by the ICTR referral chamber, and later upheld by the appeals chamber, after the Rwandan judiciary was found to be competent to handle cases of international calibre.Uwinkindi is charged with three counts of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity.
