APR FC piled more misery over Rayon Sports as Yannick Bizimana against his former club on Saturday at Kigali Stadium to win the derby for the military side.
The game was touted to be the Blue's biggest test to prove their title credentials as a victory over APR would see them retain their top of the table.
However, it was APR who laughed last as they ended the derby victorious through their star attacker Bizimana who scored the lone goal of the game.
The former Muhanga player made a wise movement past Blaise Nishimwe as he followed Anicet Nishimwe's pass into the penalty box to score past Adolphe Hakizimana to give APR the lead.
APR, who had a slow start in the first half, could have opened the scoring in the 68th minute as Ramadan Niyibizi fired an effort from the box only for Hakizimana to save.
Haringingo introduced substitutes Paul Were and Prince Rudasingwa in the attack in push for an equalizer after Leandre Onana and Moussa Camara struggled upfront against APR's well-organized defense.
AS Kigali go top
The victory saw APR close the gap at the top of the table within three points behind AS Kigali who claimed the top spot on Friday after beating Gorilla 1-0 thanks to Felix Kone Lottin’s 94th minute winner.
Rayon dropped to second on the table with 2 points and still hold one-point lead ahead of APR and Kiyovu who beat Rwamagana City 2-1 to keep themselves in the right position for the title race which is obviously a four-horse race, with Vincent Mashami’s Police side struggling to cope with the four teams’ pace in the race.
Police suffered a 1-0 shock defeat to Mukura Vs were celebrating a league victory against the law enforcers for the first time in 13 years.
Elsewhere, Gasogi United maintained their form as they beat stubborn Rutsiro 1-0 in a result that saw them move fifth on the table with 25points while Etincelles returned in Rubavu smiling after bagging three important points thanks to a hard fought 2-0 victory over Espoir FC in Rusizi.