The trial of Brig-Gen (Rtd) Frank Rusagara, Col Tom Byabagamba and Sgt (Rtd) Francois Kabayiza hit a dead end again this week after defence lawyers failed to show up at the Military High Court.

The judges were angered by the absence of Rusagara’s lawyer Pierre Celestin Buhura, Valery Gakunzi, for Col Tom Byabagamba, and Milton Nkuba Munyadatwa for Kabayiza, accusing the trio of trying to derail the trial. The judges termed the lawyers’ action as contempt of court.

The three lawyers have previously argued with the military judges in a bid to separate the trials of their clients, and even challenged the competence of the court and the bench but, on all occasions, the court has ruled against them.

Brig-Gen (Rtd) Rusagara, a former senior government official and military diplomat, and Col Byabagamba, a former head of President Paul Kagame’s elite presidential guard, are accused of inciting insurrection among citizens, tarnishing the image of the government and its leaders and illegal possession of firearms.

The trial of the three men, who were arrested in August last year, has been marred by delays and other legal impediments, which the judges have blamed on the lawyers.

According to Gakunzi and Buhura, on Tuesday, after the hearing, which lasted the whole day, they had informed the court that they had other cases to attend to on Wednesday, but the court rejected their request.

But the accused were present in court. Brig-Gen (Rtd) Rusagara and Col Byabagamba told court that they had not been in touch with their lawyers.

The military prosecutors argued that the conduct of the defence lawyers was deliberately aimed at delaying the trial and called for sanctions against them. The court imposed a fine of $416.

“The three defence lawyers will pay a fine of Rwf300,000 for failing to appear before court on the agreed date of the hearing,” said the court presided over by Maj Bernard Rugamba Hategikimana, after two days of marathon hearings.

But Mr Buhura told The EastAfrican that they cannot continue with the trial until the Supreme Court rules on the appeal that they have filed challenging the competence of the military court and the judges.