Police in Kigali have arrested a man suspected of impersonating the Minister for Defence, James Kabarebe, in order to con people. Police say Jacques Mugema committed the crime through social media site, Facebook, where he created two fake accounts; one claiming to be James Kabarebe and another for his secretary, under the pretence of offering shortcut services to whoever paid a specified sum of money through a mobile money account he provided. Preliminary investigations indicate that after identifying a potential victim, he would allegedly direct them to take to his ghost secretary on another Facebook account and phone contacts, which also belonged to him. Through that account, Mugema is suspected to have collected Rwf791,000 from his victims in a period spanning over a year. Mugema was arrested on Saturday and is currently detained at Nyamirambo Police Station as investigations continue. Police Spokesperson for the Central Region Modeste Mbabazi said citizens who believed he was Minister Kabarebe often spoke to him through his Facebook inbox – and it is where he suggested that they pay some “little money” for their challenges to be solved. “He created conversations with those who contacted him and, after learning any of their challenges, would ask them to pay a sum of money through a telephone number he provided them with,” Mbabazi said. “Victims often called the number to verify if the payment had been received and the suspect would answer, claiming this time that he is the secretary of the minister and had received the amount on his behalf.” Mbabazi revealed that this is not the first time that Mugema has been caught up in such fraud – he has in the past tried to impersonate several other individuals in order to con people. He also warned the public against falling prey to such con men by using approved channels to get government services and also verifying the authenticity of the people they interact with on social media platforms. “Don’t give your hard-earned money to someone through any technology channel unless you have verified who they are. Don’t believe in such shortcut services. Every service offered in Rwanda has a clear and specific place where it can be attained or accessed. Such shortcuts are a form of corruption and is punishable by the law,” he said. He said criminals seek to use technology to their advantage, but that Police will continue to uproot such vices, Mbabazi said. Police also called on those with information that can facilitate investigations to always approach the Force.
