The High Court in Kigali, this week, began hearing a case involving 30 suspects who were arrested in connection with a series of grenade attacks that rocked the country last year.

Some of the suspects pleaded guilty.

The case got underway on Monday with the prosecution maintaining that the accused either executed terror acts or acknowledged awareness of such acts but never reported them to the authorities.

Prosecution accused the suspects of supporting a terrorist network, recruiting for and belonging to a terrorist group, planning and executing activities aimed at causing state insecurity and mass murder.

Court heard that the planners of the attacks were based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and worked closely with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) terrorist group.

Yesterday, one of the defendants, Frodourd Rwandanga, denied three of the four charges leveled against him. The charges are; forming and operating in a terrorist group, complicity in terrorism acts, causing insecurity in the country and committing mass murder.

Rwandanga, who claims to have held the rank of Sergeant Major in FDLR, pleaded not guilty to the charge of complicity in acts of terrorism.

"I don’t believe that what I was doing was terrorism because I never targeted civilians; I targeted police and soldiers… it was a warfare,” said Rwandanga, who confessed to have detonated grenades at Gisozi and Kinamba areas in Gasabo District early last year.

Another suspect, said to be the leader of a group of people who are accused of hurling grenades in the city center and Kimoronko surburb, also denied the other two charges. He, however, pleaded guilty to committing mass murder saying that his acts caused death of civilians.

The case, presided over by Pio Mugabo, is expected to continue, today, with more suspects making their case before the court sets the date for the rulings.

charles.kwizera@newtimes.co.rw