The High Court Chamber for International Crimes (ICC) on Tuesday, Dec. 31, postponed the substantive hearing of the case involving two top commanders of FDLR militia as a lawyer of one chose to throw in the towel citing “not having a free conscience” to be a lawyer in the case. The suspects Ignace Nkaka best known as La Forge Fils Bazeye and Lt Col Jean-Pierre Nsekanabo were apprehended by Congolese authorities last year and handed over to Rwanda. Nkaka was the militia’s spokesperson while Bazeye was its head of the intelligence. In April this year, the duo was arraigned before the Gasabo Primary Court and were both denied bail as their case was set to continue in substance, this time handled by the Nyanza-based ICC. Appearing before the ICC on Tuesday, dressed in pink prison clothes and escorted by about four prisons officials, Nkaka and Nsekanabo arrived in the court’s compound a few minutes to 9 AM and both entered the courtroom without lawyers. Asked by the judge about where their lawyers were, both said they did not know why they hadn’t showed up. The presiding judge allowed a couple of minutes for the duo to wait for their lawyers, only to find out later that Nsekanabo’s lawyer Beata Dukeshinema had decided to quit. In a letter addressed to court and read by the court registrar morning, Dukeshinema who has been Nsekanabo’s lawyer in earlier hearings asked to be relieved of the duties. “After seeing the nature of the dossier and its weight, I would inform you that I will not be available to continue following it up. And what comprises the case don’t allow me to use my conscience well,” read the letter in part. Asked by the judge what he had to say about his lawyer’s quitting, Nsekanabo said he had just known it from the courtroom. He said he was okay with another lawyer that will be provided to him. Prosecution told court that it is Nsekanabo’s right to have legal representation and so asked that the case hearing be adjourned until he gets a lawyer. The judge accepted and moved the hearing to January 30. Among other issues raised during the court session was that the two suspects had not had the chance to have a look at their file. Nkaka’s lawyer, Milton Nkuba, told the court that its online system did not allow him access to his client’s file. Prosecution argued that they had fed it into the system, but the problem might be on the system itself not allowing the defendants’ lawyers to access the file. The presiding judge said that the defendants can also use the time given to them by the court to look at their files.
