Retired Major Habib Mudhatiru has entered a guilty plea for the four counts that Prosecution brought against him and 24 others early this month. The group was on October 2 charged by military prosecution for being part of an unlawful military outfit, treason, forming and being part of an illegal military outfit, and conniving with foreign countries to destabilize Rwanda. Mudhatiru and his co-accused were on Friday appearing in court for the third time since their capture a few months back in neighboring DR Congo during operations by the Congolese army against foreign armed insurgents. The group is appearing before the Military Tribunal in Nyamirambo, Nyarugenge District. Addressing court, Mudhatiru who was talking while sitting due the injuries sustained during his capture, said that he would not be denying any of the charges since the evidence incriminating him was obvious. “The crimes I am being accused of, are true and I cannot deny because most are obvious. Yes, the (RNC) military faction exists and I was its member. I plead guilty to all the four counts and I would like to say that I am sincerely sorry for my involvement in everything,” he said. Mudhatiru’s lawyer; Paula Umulisa requested the judge to expedite the process to grant her client bail, citing his cooperation. “I would like to request that the procedure is accelerated since my client gave you a seven-page confession on all the four counts, which spared court and prosecution valuable time it would take for investigations. What we should be discussing is bail,” she said. The judge, Lt. Col. Charles Madudu dismissed the request saying that the decision to grant bail would depend on the details surrounding the case, which are yet to be heard. Led by South Africa-based fugitive Kayumba Nyamwasa, Rwanda National Congress, or RNC, is a terrorist organization blamed for a spate of grenade attacks in Rwanda between 2010 and 2014 that killed at least 17 people and injured over 400 others. Mudhatiru and his group were specifically part of P5 a terror outfit created out of a merger of several negative forces fighting Kigali. The groups include RNC and FDLR, among others. Congolese forces have in recent months stepped up operations against armed groups in the country’s east and recently killed “Lt Gen” Sylvester Mudacumura, the commander of genocidal FDLR outfit. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
