Intersec guards cheated by savings association

KIGALI - Guards at a security firm, Intersec, have accused leaders of their savings association of diverting their funds for personal enrichment, Sunday Times has learnt.Intersec is a registered and legally licensed security company in the country. In 2005, about 400 guards formed Intersec Saving Credit Association (ISCA) but two years later it collapsed with their deposits. Guards say that there was an internal syndicate within the association which diverted part of the funds. Leaders of the association were reportedly deducting 10 per cent of each guard’s salary but the savings disappeared. Guards who preferred to remain anonymous, said former senior leaders of the association took part of the funds without the guards consent. “The leaders used our hard-earned money to set up business for their own benefit. They have failed to pay,” one guard, who claims the association owes him Frw80,000, complained. The guards have also petitioned police through the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate the scam and discipline those involved. When contacted on Friday, the acting Director of CID, Tony Kuramba, said the police would act swiftly when the alleged victims formally inform the force. “We are ready to help these people like any Rwandan. Though Intersec is a private company, it is regulated by the police,” Kuramba said in a telephone interview. One guard who walked into The New Times office in Kimihurura explained that he and other guards were being threatened each time they demanded their money. The association’s initial idea was to put part of their salaries together, start a business and share profits generated. On average, a guard earns about Frw30,000 a month. “Some leaders bought assets meant for the association but later became personal properties,” claimed another guard who declined to be named. The guards cited a case involving a motorcycle the association bought using the guards’ money but was sold by ISCA’s leader and the money was never remitted to the association’s account. After selling all the company’s assets, the management kept playing hide-and-seek games with the guards. Pio Rutamagero, Intersec’s director of administration and finance, was at one time head the association. When contacted on Thursday, Rutamagero said he could not comment on the matter. “I am on leave. Contact me next week if you want a comment on this matter,” Rutamagero said before hanging up the phone. Rutamagero was replaced by Eugene Mbarushimana who is also the current company’s assistant in charge of operations. Mbarushimana’s term lasted two months and was replaced by Dominique Kalisa who is also employed in Intersec’s operation department. Mbarushimana and Kalisa could not be reached for a comment by press time. Earlier on, the guards had also petitioned Intersec‘s Director General Claver Kayumba to intervene and force the association’s leaders refund the money. When contacted for a comment Thursday, Kayumba said the association does not belong to the company and he had no right to intervene. “The association belongs to the guards,” he said in a telephone interview. “I have never been a member of this association. I had no interest of intervening. But what I did was to call a management meeting to resolve the matter,” he added. He said whoever is found to have diverted the guards’ funds would be prosecuted. Ends