Rwf 3m and USD19, 000 recovered

KIGALI - Police have arrested two suspects over the Monday night burglary at the popular Ndoli’s Joint Supermarket-Forex Bureau at Kisementi, Kicukiro District.

During the burglary, $39,000 dollars (approx Rwf 22.8m), Rwf 3.9m and 10, 000 Burundi francs were stolen.

The two suspects, David Rukundo, 24, an employee at the Supermarket and Jimmy Ishimwe, his close friend were arrested on Wednesday.

Rukundo, who has been working at the Supermarket in the Cash-power department for the last six months, was arrested in Rweru Sector, Bugesera District together with one, John Bosco Kawunda, 27, the suspected architect of the robbery, as they headed to Burundi via Ruhuha border crossing.

Kawunda, also an employee at the Supermarket, however, jumped out of the police truck as they were being transported to Nyamata Police station in Bugesera and remains on the run.

While Ishimwe, a student, was picked in Kigali after Rukundo, who was caught in procession of $19,000 and Rwf 2.5m, told police that he had given Ishimwe Rwf 500, 000 which was also recovered at the time of his arrest.

Police Spokesperson, Supt. Eric Kayiranga who confirmed the arrest said that they (police) were alerted by motorcycle taxi operators in Bugesera who had transported Rukundo and Kawunda to Ruhuha as they headed to Burundi.

"The cyclists alerted the Local Defence personnel nearby after they saw them with big sums of money in different currencies as they tried to pay them,” Kayiranga said. 

"Currently, Rwanda’s Interpol is searching for Kawunda and is in touch with their Burundian counterparts.”

According to the police spokesperson, Kawunda’s photos have also been circulated at all border posts.

Kawunda, who has been working at the supermarket for the last four years is said to have sold the idea to his workmate and used the cash-power room door with the help of Rukundo, to sneak into the Forex bureau at about 11 p.m., after the supermarket had closed.

"Kawunda sold me the idea, I then gave him the key to the door linking to the supermarket where there’s a Forex bureau,” Rukundo who was at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters said yesterday.

Rukundo who is also a relative of James Ndoli, the owner of the supermarket, added that Kawunda picked the money and found him in the cash-power room where he stashed it in a bag, and later joined him.

Ndoli told The New Times that Kawunda, an orphan who sometimes deputized his wife in running the supermarket, worked in the Forex bureau once a week which gave him knowledge of where the key to the safe is kept.

"Kawunda was organised and active and coordinated the supermarket activities well,” Ndoli said, and added that the duo had tried to disconnect the supermarket surveillance cameras but could not disconnect them all.

"Some cameras remained on and that’s how we identified them,” he said.

This is the second time this supermarket has been robbed. On June 6 this year, unknown people broke into the supermarket after disconnecting all surveillance cameras and stole US17, 250 dollars and Rwf 4.9m.

Kayiranga called upon all business owners to always install cameras in their businesses for easy identification of criminals.

Ends