One person is in police custody while four others were by yesterday on the run after Police foiled their attempt to rob a Bank Populaire branch in Kayonza District, Eastern Province.

The incident happened in the wee hours of Monday morning in Mukarenge Sector.

According to Police Spokesman for the Eastern Province, Inspector of Police, Emmanuel Kayigi, the five suspected robbers wielded iron bars which they used to dig  a hole through the bank’s walls.

"A security guard saw them and immediately notified Police and within a few minutes, we had arrived at the scene,” IP Kayigi said.

He added: "We managed to arrest one but the other four escaped.”

IP Kayigi said investigations are ongoing to apprehend the other four and establish whether they operate in racket  that could be involved in varied crimes in the country.

He commended the security guard for alerting the Police in time and urged the public to come forth with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspects.

"These suspects were ready to use violence since they were armed with machetes and the security guard could have been in danger had they spotted him. It is always wise to involve Police as soon as possible in such circumstances because we have the ability to respond efficiently,” he said.

Bank robberies are a rare occurrence in Rwanda, with the most recent being an incident in April 2013, when four suspects in Nyanza District were arrested as they attempted to break into a local branch of Banque Populaire du Rwanda.

Article 303 of the Penal Code stipulates that theft with violence or threats is punishable by a term of imprisonment of seven to ten years.