Kicukiro Primary Court in Kigali has adjourned the pre-trial hearing of Genocide suspect Beatrice Munyenyezi to next week on Wednesday, May 5. Munyenyezi, 51, appeared before court on Wednesday April 28 where she was meant to be charged by prosecution the several charges related to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The charges she faces include murder as a genocide crime, conspiracy to commit genocide, planning of the genocide, complicity in genocide, incitement to commit genocide, extermination, and complicity in rape. Munyenyezi, who was a fortnight ago deported from the United States, was also expected to request for bail. The request to push the hearing was made by the suspect through her lawyer, Gatera Gashabana, who said his client still needed time to discuss the case with her two lawyers and prepare her defence. Munyenyezi also told court there are files that are still in the US, which she said she needs during the preparation of her defence. She also said that her second lawyer, Pierre Celestin Buhuru was not present at the hearing praying that court considers her right to the defence of her choice and adjourn until when her two lawyers will be present. Meanwhile, Gashabana said that he was not getting enough access to his client who is currently in the custody of Rwanda Investigation Bureau, urging court to address the matter. While reacting to the defendants request, prosecution said that it filed the indictment for all parties in the case to access on Monday April 26, two days before the hearing on Wednesday. However, the prosecutors said that since the request by the defendant was within her rights provided for by the law on matters like the right of the defendant to understand the indictment and have an appropriate time to respond to it, they had no objection to the request. The prosecutor said that it was also the discretionary powers of court to determine an appropriate time that should be given to defence to prepare their case. Munyenyezi arrived in Rwanda on Friday, April 16 following a 10-year sentence by a US court related to immigration fraud. During her conviction in 2013, the US court ruled that she had lied about her role in the 1994 Genocide during the time she was processing her papers to allow her stay in the United States. Munyenyezi also denied affiliation with any political party, despite her husband, Arsène Shalom Ntahobalis leadership role in the extremist Interahamwe militia. Besides her husband, Munyenyezi closely worked with her mother-in-law Pauline Nyiramasuhuko in the extermination of the Tutsi in Butare, which is currently Huye district. The mother and son were convicted to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) which was on appeal reduced to 47 years each, and are now serving their sentences.
