Editor,

I wish to commend the Office of the Ombudsman for organising a three-day training in investigating cases on corruption and other forms of injustice for their staff.

Such workshops should be organised regularly. Lack of investigative skills damage people’s reputation in the eyes of the public and in the end, malign those who are innocent. Yet in court, the investigators are required to prove beyond reasonable doubt before somebody implicated is convicted.

The office of the ombudsman handles sensitive cases involving mismanagement of public funds and indisputable evidence is important. Corrupt officials use advanced techniques to erase evidence and become hard to nail in court.

The staff of the Ombudsman heavily relies on whistleblowers. Though it is good to rely on insiders to fight corruption, it is important to verify such information. When somebody decides to give you information, there is a big chance that this person has an interest. It is important that the staff have capacity to investigate whistleblowers first, before they embark on investigating the case itself.

Issues to do with wealth declaration by government officials have raised dust in the past with some people accusing the office of ombudsman of not doing the job well. I am sure such training programmes would help resolve such complaints.

Solange Mugisha
Kigali