A man accused of defiling his 11-year-old cousin has finally pleaded guilty before the Supreme Court after six years denying the charges.Jean Claude Muyizere, who hails from Gicumbi district, was arrested in 2007 following a case filed on behalf of the victim who claimed that Muyizere had had sexual intercourse with her every night for a long time.“When I was first arrested, I pleaded guilty but my fellow prisoners lied to me that I should retract my plea. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in jail, this is why I am telling the truth now, I defiled her,” said Muyizere.Prosecutor Augustin Nkusi, also told court that Muyizere is accused of having defiled his other seven- year-old cousin and that he used to give the girls money to have intercourse with them. He would then take away the money the next morning, Nkusi said.Prior to pleading guilty, court spent about 45 minutes trying to convince the suspect to stand trial since he had refused saying that his lawyer hadn’t read the dossier and was not ready.The court, however, ruled that it was the lawyer’s mistake not to read his client’s file in time and also convinced Muyizere that his appearance was his last card otherwise judges would rule that he deliberately decided not to have his appeal heard.But during his plea, the suspect said he only defiled his cousin once, which prompted Nkusi to say that the suspect didn’t have any remorse because of proof.“He doesn’t seem remorseful as he claims, he should tell the court how many times he had intercourse with this girl since it is indicated in the girl’s testimony that he defiled her several times,” said Nkusi.Muyizere’s lawyer told court that since his client has pleaded guilty, his earlier sentence should be reduced from life to five years.Supreme Court will deliver its judgment in the case on June 07.
