Prosecution  this week granted a provisional release to former Rwandair Chief Executive, Manzi Kayihura, after he was presented to prosecution by the Criminal Investigation Department.

"He was released provisionally and without conditions but investigations are still going on,” Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga said on Wednesday. Kayihura was arrested last Thursday over charges police said were connected to abuse of office.

"His release does mean he was cleared; we are still working with police in ongoing investigations. It is the investigations that will determine the future of the case,” Ngoga said without elaborating.

Kayihura’s arrest and subsequent release comes at a time when the airline is in a crisis following the termination of a leasing contract of the jet Boeing 737-200 which was leased from a Malawian airline company. The contract was terminated on Thursday prompting the temporary halt of flights to some destinations.

The 5-year old airline announced on Saturday that it had leased another aircraft and flight schedules were back to normal, save for the Johannesburg route which was yet to resume. The other routes Rwandair plies are Bujumbura, Entebbe, Nairobi and Kilimanjaro.

Rwandair came into existence in 2002 following the dissolution of Alliance Express Rwanda which had also replaced Air Rwanda.

The Cabinet last Friday appointed Gerald Zirimwabagabo as the company’s Executive Chairman, meaning he will double as both its Board Chairman and Managing Director.

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