Fighting fraud by bringing to book wrongdoers

Rwanda has won accolades both in the region and globally for her concerted efforts to fight against corruption and other related vices. Any visitor to Kigali cannot fail to notice that there is a leadership committed to transform the economy and create jobs for the citizens. In the world, Rwanda is ranked among the least corrupt countries and recently, it has been named the least corrupt in the East African community. And all these achievements have been earned in a space of 14 years. The achievement is a massive effort by combined efforts of anti-corruption bodies. These include the office of Ombudsman, Rwanda Revenue Authority, Police, and Judiciary among others. Many government employees found to have been involved in corruption have been severely punished. Some even lose their jobs after court battles. Some of the cases that have been in court include former Bank of Commerce, Development and Industry (BCDI) now ECOBANK boss Alfred Kalisa. He was then the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and he is said to have mismanaged the Bank’s funds. Kalisa reportedly mismanaged the funds by advancing to his relatives and friends abnormal loans worth billions of francs which was in breach of the Central Bank regulations. It’s said that Kalisa inflated the construction cost of the then BCDI by 2.7 billon francs and availed loans to himself, relatives and companies worth 2.3 billion. Kalisa who owned 30% of the bank is now sentenced to two years imprisonment for fraud. Another case involved the former Director General of Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS), Dr. Tito Migabo, who was sentenced to seven and half years in prison on corruption charges. Migabo was sentenced together with his three subordinates for awarding contracts to a non existing company. According to the prosecution, Migabo breached tendering process, favouritism and using false documents. Rwanda Revenue Authority also registered a similar case over its employee Gakwandi Jean de Dieu who was bribed with 14 million by FINA bank when he was tasked to audit it. Gakwandi was found guilty by the Nyarugenge court which sentenced him to two years and a fine amounting to 28 million francs and 1 million francs to Rwanda revenue authority as damages to its reputation. The only way to fight corruption is to punish those involved in the vice because one cannot fight it without disciplining those practicing it. Ends