A man in Ruhango District, Byimana Sector, has been arrested for allegedly impersonating a land registration officer in order to illegally collect money from unsuspecting victims.

Eugene Nshimayezu was arrested on July 24, after residents became suspicious of his activities and reported him to police.

It is said that at the time of his arrest, Nshimayezu had already collected approximately Rwf1 million from his victim, who he had promised to offer land titles upon payment of money.

The suspect is currently held at Byimana Police Station pending further investigations.

The Police Spokesperson for Southern Province, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Hubert Gashagaza, noted that investigations were instantly conducted, and confirmed that he was not an employee of National Land Centre, which is in charge of land registration.

"Investigations show that he was once an Executive Secretary of Gatagara Cell in Mukingo Sector of Nyanza District, but he was dismissed from his job on corruption related issues. With such a history, it is becoming clear how the suspect thought he would get away with impersonating a land registration officer,” CSP Gashagaza said.

"He carried with him a fake badge indicating that he was an employee of the National Land Centre, which enabled him to defraud a couple of people their hard earned money. We thank residents who provided police with information that led to his arrest.”

CSP Gashagaza further cautioned the public against paying money to individual for public services, noting that there is always need to double check the identity of individuals before paying for any services.

In a recent meeting with residents of Gatsibo District, the District Community Liaison Officer (DCLO) of Gatsibo, Inspector of Police Roger Rwakayiro, noted that conmen usually employ modern tools such as the use of internet to cheat or defraud unsuspecting victims.

Some of their activities include the use of Short Message Services (SMS) to lie to people that they have won a certain amount of money or goods – yet in reality what they want is to cheat their victims.

He also cautioned that due to the advances in technology, specific services such as Mobile Money, transfers are often targeted by criminals in order to cheat people of their hard earned money.

"Those who use services like MTN Mobile Money and Tigo Cash should be careful at all times. We have over the years arrested suspects who stealthily accessed passwords of other people’s phones and illegally transfer their money. We should continue working together to put an end to such activities,” he said.

He further told them not to be taken away by empty promises from such crooks, wondering why one should be tricked to believe that they have won a jackpot in a competition they never participated in.

The Executive Secretary of Ngarama Sector, Dominique Iyakaremye, commended RNP for the useful information it delivers to the public, and urged residents to desist from collaborating or hiding fraudsters and other criminals.

During that same campaign, police officers also reached out to over 350 secondary school students and sensitized them about Rwandan laws, as well as how to play their role in securing Rwanda’s safety, through community policing.