Police are investigating the cause of death of a trader in Nyabugogo who died seconds after allegedly eating a piece of meat coated with poison in a restaurant. 

Relatives and friends of the deceased allege that Ben Gakwerere in his mid 50s who was in the hardware business, was poisoned. He died on Wednesday evening.

The deceased’s friends who visited The New Times want police to fully investigate the matter and get to "the root cause of the issue.”

A friend to the deceased who spoke on condition of anonymity said she had spent the whole of Wednesday with Gakwerere who was in "good health.”

"I was shocked to hear that he had passed away in a restaurant after eating brochette. What makes us suspicious is that people in the restaurant had wanted to cover up the incident,” the friend said.

Police Spokesperson Supt. Eric Kayiranga said last week that the force was looking into the matter.

"We have arrested the suspects and the meat has been sent to laboratory for medical scrutiny. It’s still early to apportion blame,” Kayiranga explained.

Meanwhile, reports are also rife that most of the bars in Nyabugogo sell a dangerous local gin, popularly known in the area as Umurituri right under the noses of leaders who should be checking it.

A source from Rwanda Bureau of Standards quality department had earlier told this newspaper that they had written to police in Nyabugogo "but the business still goes on smoothly.”

But Kayiranga responded saying such dangerous gin cannot be sold with the knowledge of the police and "people get away with it”.

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