Ten people who were convicted in connection with the 2014 terror attacks in Musanze District have appealed their sentence. They are part of a group of 11 that were condemned by the High Court in Musanze in 2015 having found them guilty of taking part in several attacks that happened in the district in 2014 and 2013. One of such was a grenade attack that took place at the home of Musanze District mayor Winfrida Mpembyemungu claiming the life of a one-and-a-half-year old girl and injuring two others in 2014. Another grenade attack took place in Musanze town in the same year injuring six people, in addition to another attack that had happened a year earlier (2013) in which a policeman who was shot dead. In a ruling that was held publicly at the Ubworoherane Stadium in 2015, the High Court in Musanze sent six of the perpetrators to spend the rest of their lives in prison after finding them guilty of working with DR Congo-based terrorist group FDLR and carrying out terror attacks in the district. Five others were given ten year sentences for complicity in terrorist activities. On Wednesday, June 10, ten of the convicts appeared before the Court of Appeal in Kigali, challenging the penalties handed down by the High Court. In a hearing that lasted for about 5 hours, the convicts and their lawyers presented the basis of their appeal to court, where some of them argued that the High Court ignored the fact that they had pleaded guilty and should have given them lighter penalties. These include Agnes Murekatete who is among those who were handed a life sentence. Murekatete, according to prosecution, received weapons including grenades, a pistol and ammunition from FDLR, and she did not report to the authorities. Standing before court, other convicts tried to explain that their role in the attacks was not intentional since they were not aware that they were participating in such. Among such is Eliavane Tuyishimire who told court that he used to go to a place where FDLR meetings were held but he was always there for other reasons – not the meetings. However, the prosecutor refuted the claims of the defendants, showcasing to court that they had knowingly joined FDLR and were pursuing its agendas on Rwandan soil. For instance, the prosecutor said that Tuyishimire told investigators earlier that he was part of the FDLR, a well-known anti-Rwanda group. Due to time, the court only heard from 7 defendants. The rest (three of them) will be heard on July 7.
