SOUTHERN PROVINCE

MUHANGA — Three employees who allegedly robbed Fr23 million from their organisation were on Wednesday transferred from Police to Gitarama prison.

Edward Kagenzi, Protais Musemakweri and Ignatius Nshimiyimana- the driver, manager and truck turn-boy respectively, all employees of Societe de Commerce General et de Distribution (Socogedi-Muhanga) reportedly robed the money they were carrying to Kigali for banking on December 23 2007.

The plan is said to have been hatched earlier and executed at Kivumu trading center, Cyeza sector, after leaving Socedi.

The suspects have since denied the charges, claiming they were intercepted by armed robbers in a grey corolla car who took the cash at gun point. They claim it happened while one of them [Nshimiyimana] alighted on the way, at about 7pm.

The robbers reportedly first accused them of packing wrongly before taking the money in that confusion.

As they obstructed them, the suspects claim, the robbers pulled out guns and vanished with the money without harming anyone, but their colleague (Nshimiyimana) proceeded to his home without bother.

In the initial interrogation however, by police, the trio claimed that the armed thugs were dressed in police uniforms.

"The accused claim that the robbery was done by four armed ‘police’ men- who intercepted them on the way. This has raised concern since none of them can identify any of the robbers or the vehicle number plate," the investigation stated.

However, Police sources said that the suspects have been remanded as further investigations continue.

Armed robbery is not a common scenario in the south, and this case has raised major concerns among security officials in the area.

Ends