At least eight Rwandan women, including young university students, were robbed, assaulted, or raped by men who lured them through Tinder, a popular online dating platform. So far, four suspects have been arrested. According to the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), the suspects would get on social media to befriend their victims with promises of dating or doing business. Thierry B Murangira the RIB spokesperson pointed out that after establishing a channel of communication, they lay the ground for their criminal acts. “The victims met the suspects on different platforms, especially Tinder and the latter began gathering as much information as possible,” he said. After gathering personal information on the women, the suspects would then set up a meet. However, the suspects would insist on picking up the women from their homes and not meet at a public place. According to RIB, the reason the suspects would do this is so that they know the address of their victims and use that to threaten them in the event that they reported what happened to them. Once the victim entered the car, the accomplices would then show up, lock the doors, and play loud music in the car to muffle any screams from the victims to those outside. They would then grab their victims by the neck, force them to open their mobile money wallets and transfer any funds to their accounts. To continue with the robbery, they would ask their victims to log into their bank accounts and transfer any money to themselves. Any resisting victims would be threatened by stabbing, with one of them holding a knife. One of the victims narrated how she was forced to call her friends and relatives, claiming she needed money to treat her child and any money received would be transferred to numbers held by the suspects. And, after robbing her, they sexually assaulted her. Among the evidence collected by RIB was an assortment of jewellery, watches and phones that were taken from the different women. The suspects face up to 6 charges including intentional infecting an individual with a Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD). The more serious charges include rape that attracts lengthy sentences if found guilty. And, with all the arrested suspects aged under 30, Murangira, the RIB spokesperson cautioned young people against such criminal acts saying they put themselves at risk of wasting their lives in jail. Murangira also advised people to be more cautious especially when interacting with strangers online. To facilitate their crimes, the suspects would steal people’s identities and use them to get phone numbers that were used for money transfers. The suspect also use hired vehicles and RIB advised those in the business of car rentals to always vet their clients. RIB did not rule out the possibility of more victims coming forward now that they have suspects in custody. The alleged crimes were committed between November 10 and December 1, 2021.
