Senior Sonarwa bosses in custody over 'illegal' transactions

Top managers at one of the country’s biggest insurance companies, Sonarwa, are currently under detention for allegedly authorising “illegal” financial transactions amounting to Rwf191 million. The suspects include the managing director, a Zimbabwean national, Mawadza Nhomo, and Charles Mutsinzi Karake, the chairperson of the board of directors. According to Faustin Nkusi, the spokesperson for the National Public Prosecution Authority, the two are accused alongside four others, including insurance agents. The other suspects include Hubert Rumanyika, Stevenson Nzaramba, Gerard Mbabazi and Barnabas Rutagwabira. Some of the suspects have already appeared before court in Gasabo District. They are all remanded at Gasabo Prison in Kimironko in Kigali, according to Nkusi. “The suspects have been detained for 30 days, as we continue to investigate and gather information prosecuting them for crimes relating to unlawful authorization of payments for business acquisition costs (commission fee). The suspects are generally accused of corruption,” he said. Nkusi added: “Two co-accused, Mbabazi and Rutagwabira, who are insurance agents with Sonarwa, are accused of using fake documents in bidding for insurance contracts and consequently taking a bribe,” Said Nkusi. According to Nkusi, the cases emanate from an insurance contract between Sonarwa and the Ministry of Infrastructure (Mininfra) for a tender to give insurance cover to a fleet of cars belonging to the ministry. According to prosecution, by virtue of Mininfra being a public entity, no commission was supposed to be paid on the transaction. However, Sonarwa’s Chief Finance Officer Samuel Okurapa says that even though giving business acquisition costs is an “industrial practice” he could neither deny nor confirm that his bosses were wrong in authorizing for the commission fees in question. Okurapa’s comments were echoed by Alexis Ruzigura, Sonarwa’s commercial director, who was, however, quick to note that they don’t know the state of the case until the “courts prove that the suspects are guilty of breaching any insurance laws”. “The main problem involves payment authorisation of business acquisition costs (commission) for a public contract with Mininfra. This is deemed to be a wrongful transaction according to the law,” Ruzigura added. However, he noted that, “It is an industrial practice that insurance companies issue insurance commission, especially when you are using private agents. The agents in question have credible licensed outlets from the regulator.” Ruzigura added that, whatever is going on, “Sonarwa is running smoothly. The reason they are in prison is not because Sonarwa has been mismanaged, everybody should know that the company is unaffected. None of the suspects has been convicted; it is a case we still hope will be solved.” Established in 1975, Sonarwa is the oldest insurance company in the country. In 2008, Industrial And General Insurance Plc, (IGI), a Nigerian firm, acquired a 35 per cent stake in the company, effectively becoming the majority shareholder. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Senior Sonarwa bosses in custody over 'illegal' transactions