Gerald Mfitumukiza, 23, was a car mechanic at Kisementi commercial area in Remera, Kigali. On Friday, July 12, he received a car from a client to repair but since the work on the Toyota RAV 4 could not be completed on time, he was compelled to keep the automobile overnight.

The next day, a simple altercation between mechanics led to the accidental breaking of the car’s windscreen. As the panicky Mr Mfitumukiza looked for solutions, the owner of the car arrived. Replacing the windscreen required about Rwf250,000, which Mr Mfitumukiza did not have at hand but was willing to mobilise.

The incensed car owner would take none of the explanations and immediately reported the matter to police, who promptly picked Mr Mfitumukiza and detained him at the transit centre in Kicukiro, commonly known as ‘Kwa Kabuga’ for alleged vandalism.

“For six weeks I was held here without anyone informing me when I would appear in court or what I would be charged with,” Mr Mfitumukiza claimed when he recently narrated his ordeal to Rwanda Today. “With my immediate family in Nyamagabe, I had no one to follow up on my case.”

A month and a half later, Mr Mfitumukiza was arraigned in Kacyiru Primary Court for a pre-trial hearing, with charges of vandalism and damage to property. That was at the end of August 2012.

With no one to stand surety of him and no lawyer to represent him in court, Mr Mfitumukiza failed to secure bail. He was remanded for 30 days.

“I expected my fellow mechanics to show up and stand surety for me but it seems they were not aware of the date I appeared in court,” the mechanic recalled. “I was sent to Kimironko Prison to serve the 30 days as I wait trial but the 30 days turned into more than two years.

“Every time I would appear in Gasabo Intermediate Court, I would be told that my file was not ready, the judge or prosecutor was not available or that my case was not listed for hearing.”

After a year and eight months, however, lady luck smiled down on him when a former client traced him after he was informed by the other mechanics whom he worked with behind Kobil Petrol Station that he has been in jail for almost two years.

The concerned client contracted a lawyer for him and, after rigorous work in and outside courts, Mr Mfitumukiza was set free in October 2014 — two years and two months since his arrest for a crime that would have carried a penalty of not more than six months and a small fine.

Mr Mfitumukiza was among the hundreds of “forgotten” suspects accused of committing petty crimes who say they are languishing in Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) facilities for long periods of time without trial and with no one following up on their plight.

More than 800 inmates in various correctional facilities claim that their cases have been “forgotten” after being put on the 30-day pre-trial detention, with some claiming to have spent more than a decade behind bars without trial.

However, both the National Public Prosecution Authority (RPPA) and RCS vehemently deny these claims.

When on January 6 Minister for Internal Security Sheikh Musa Fazil Harerimana visited the RCS facility in Kimironko, Gasabo, Jean Claude Tabaro, Jean Marie Vianney Murangira and another who only identified himself as Karimunda told him and the media that they had spent more than 10 years in the facility without trial.

Two of the men are accused of defilement and rape while the other is accused of theft. The trio claimed that there were more than 800 inmates in the same facility facing the same fate.

The problem is one of the many which were addressed to the minister during his visit.

Officials at the facility informed Mr Harerimana that the grievances of the inmates had been forwarded to the Prosecution and new dates to appear in court set.

Practically impossible

The Prosecution however dismissed the claims, saying that it was practically impossible for anyone to be forgotten by institutions that are supposed to dispense justice.

“We are not aware of the case made by the three men,” said Alain Mukurarinda, the Prosecution Spokesperson. “It has not been brought to our attention but it is practically impossible for any suspect to spend more than 10 years in detention without trial.

“The Prosecution follows every case file to detail, particular those of individuals put on remand for 30 days. When the 30 days elapse and the file is not ready for trial, Prosecution asks for an extension to complete the dossier and this period cannot exceed one year.”

He said the trio, or others who feel they have not been accorded their right to appear before the judge, could have filed a complaint against the prosecution.

Visits every three months

According to Mr Mukurarinda, Prosecution visits correctional facilities every three months to hear complaints from inmates and this case has never been raised before.

Several high-profile suspects, such as musician Kizito Mihigo and his co-accused, were also held for lengthy periods without being presented in court. The singer, journalist Cassien Ntamuhanga and two others were arrested in April but only appeared in court in September.

Other such cases include the military trials of Brig-Gen (Rtd) Frank Rusagara and Col Tom Byabagamba and that of former director-general of Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB) Angelique Kantengwa, who were put on provisional detention for 30 days in September but are yet to appear in court nearly five months later.

According to Mr Mukuralinda, such high-profile trials take more than five months because they involve gathering a lot of evidence, some of which might need to be obtained internationally. But he said the waiting period cannot exceed a year, according to the provisions of the law.

Article 104 of Law No. 30/2013 of 24/5/2013 relating to the code of criminal procedure on the period of validity of a provisional detention order states that “the provisional detention order against a suspect shall be valid for one (1) month including the date on which it is rendered. After the expiry date, it may be renewed for one (1) month on a continuing basis.

“However, the one-month period of the provisional detention order for petty offenses shall not be renewed.

“For misdemeanours, the period of validity shall not be renewed after six (6) months of detention of the suspect and after one (1) year for felonies. If the time limits provided for under this Paragraph expires before the case file is forwarded to the court, the suspect under provisional detention shall be granted interim release.

“A court order renewing provisional detention shall be rendered by the court under the conditions and within the time limits provided for under Article 101 of this Law.”

At a press conference, the Commissioner-General of Rwanda Correctional Services Maj-Gen Paul Rwarakabije last week also dismissed claims that the facilities under his watch are holding people against the law.

Mr Rwarakabije was reacting to claims that three categories of people, those on pre-trial detention, those cleared of any wrongdoing by courts and those who completed their sentences but are waiting for release orders, were languishing in jail due to lack of follow up on their case files.

“It is completely untrue,” he said. “These allegations are unfounded. In our facilities, there is no one who is being held illegally because there are processes they go through to enter correctional facilities.

The same courts

“The same courts that sentenced them are the same courts that order their release.

“There are procedures followed and each of the inmates has a copy of their file. You cannot come to me and say look I have completed my sentence and we continue to hold you. We have written court orders we follow not mere words of inmates. Some of them concoct these stories.”

He said that usually when there is a delay to release a suspect who has been cleared it comes from the side of court or prosecution who do not deliver the necessary documents to RCS in time.

RSC legal officer Hillary Sengabo also explained that if it is discovered that RCS staff continued to hold a suspect who has been cleared or completed their sentence, they are sanctioned for their actions.

A 2014 report by the National Human Rights Commission showed that at least 79 inmates suspected of committing petty offences were found to be languishing in jails without complete case files while 104 were found to have spent more than 2 years in jail without trial.