Court remands PL official over financial scam

NORTHERN PROVINCE GICUMBI — The Court of Higher Instance in Gicumbi on Wednesday remanded two people including the Liberal Party (PL) National Treasurer to Miyove government prison, for alleged fraud and issuing a false cheque. The court, charged Evariste Kimenyi, the coordinator of the Gicumbi District Aids Control Committee (CDLS) and Rosine Nyirakamana, also a worker of the CDLS, with fraud and issuing a cheque bearing false signatures worth Rwf800,000 to the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR). Prosecution, stated that Kimenyi sent Nyirakamana, to withdraw Rwf800,000 on November 4 2008 from BNR using a cheque No.1210601 bearing a fake signature of the Gicumbi district Executive Secretary, Maximilien Niyonzima. Prosecution further told the court that further investigations into the CDLS financial scam implicated Kimenyi in a financial loss of over Rwf9m which he could not account for. In its ruling, the judge said the duo attempted to defraud government by false pretence, which is a criminal offence and remanded them for 30 days. The duo through their lawyer, Pasteur Munyandamutsa applied for bail but the court rejected, instead ordering for further investigations into the case. According to Article 202 of the Rwandan Penal code, if convicted the case attracts over five years imprisonment. However, their lawyer argued that his clients are innocent and have appealed against the court decision. “The court is treating my clients as if they are government employees involved in defrauding government, yet they are not. Kimenyi and Nyirakamana are not employees of the Gicumbi district, they are just CDLS coordinators,” he said. The Mayor of Gicumbi district Bonane Nyangezi, declined to make a comment on the current financial scam in CDLS. “Let the law take its course. I shall go by the court’s ruling over this matter,” said Nyangezi. Ends