A former bodyguard of President Paul Kagame extradited from Uganda under controversial circumstances last year has withdrawn his earlier guilty plea and refused to stand trial, saying that he did not trust the military tribunal to deliver a fair trial.

Lt Joel Mutabazi appeared before the Military High Court in Kigali with 15 others with whom he is accused of planning terror activities and threatening state security. But in a shocking reversal of events, he went back on his earlier plea and denied all the eight charges he is facing.

Looking gaunt and aloof, Mutabazi said that only God can judge him, adding that he is not willing to take part in the trial in which he is not assured of fairness in a country that “kidnapped” him from Uganda.

“If anyone knows the circumstances under which I was deported from Uganda and how the law was ignored in this process, I do not believe that there are other laws in this country that will guarantee my innocence,” he said.

“I therefore do not wish to say anything throughout this trial, but I came here to tell my family that whatever happens to me in future, this is my stand on the charges: I am not guilty of all of them and I will not defend myself against them.”

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But the judges reminded the accused that he should have made his plea clear during the pre-trial hearing, adding that he could not reverse the process and that the court would hear the case even without his involvement.

Lt Mutabazi made it clear that he would not take part in the trial. He alleged that he had been tortured and intimidated and that there was a conspiracy to kill him in jail. The court dismissed his claims.

At the beginning of December 2013, Lt Mutabazi, while appearing in the Primary Military Court, pleaded not guilty to the charges but he later changed his plea to guilty to some of the charges in the absence of his lawyer Antoinette Mukamusoni.

According to the court, Lt Mutabazi requested to testify before the judges and pleaded guilty to some of the charges because his “conscience had told him so.”

He pleaded guilty to deserting the army, forgery, illegal possession of firearms spreading rumours and conspiring to harm the person of the president. But he pleaded not guilty to the charges if terrorism, forming an armed group, murder and conspiracy to murder.

The pre-trial hearing was held in camera.

READ: Court Martial rejects Mutabazi bid to conduct his case in open

Innocent Kalisa, a demobilised private and a former member of the Rwanda Defence Forces serving in the Republican Guard, appeared before the Kanombe Military Court.

Mutabazi’s brother Jackson Karemera pleaded guilty to possession of firearms and ammunition after transporting a gun from Kigali to Kampala, where he was living. Eugene Mutamba, the duo’s uncle, is accused of conspiring with them.

The other suspects include two members of the FDLR -- a genocidal militia made up of Ex-FAR and Interahamwe -- linked with the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), and eight former students from the National University of Rwanda allegedly recruited by RNC and suspected to be part of a terror cell of the FDLR.

Mutabazi was arrested in Uganda, but his extradition to Rwanda caused ripples after he disappeared from a UNHCR safe house.