President Paul Kagame has granted a pardon to 32 convicts and released an additional 2,017 prisoners on parole. This decision was announced following a Cabinet meeting held on October 18, where the resolutions included a Presidential Order to pardon 32 individuals and a Ministerial Order approving the parole release of 2,017 convicts. Among those pardoned are prominent figures such as Edouard Bamporiki, the former Minister of State for Culture. In January 2023, Bamporiki was convicted by the Kigali High Court and sentenced to five years in prison for fraudulent acquisition of another person’s property and abuse of authority. In September 2022, the Nyarugenge Intermediate Court sentenced him to four years for these crimes, a decision that both the prosecution and the defense appealed. ALSO READ: Former Minister Bamporiki sentenced to five years in prison The conviction followed his suspension from office in May 2022 after he was accused of receiving a Rwf5 million bribe from local businessman Norbert Gatera, in exchange for facilitating the reopening of Gatera’s closed alcohol factory. Prosecutors also disclosed that Bamporiki had previously accepted a Rwf10 million bribe from the same businessman, promising to help secure the release of Gatera’s wife from police custody, who was facing corruption charges at the time. Gasana Also among the pardoned is Retired Commissioner General Emmanuel Gasana, a former Governor of Eastern Province. He had been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for soliciting and accepting illegal benefits. ALSO READ: Ex-Governor Gasana illegally benefited from irrigation project - Prosecution Arrested in October 2023, he was convicted after it was alleged that he coerced businessman Eric Karinganire into providing free services, including installing irrigation systems on Gasana’s macadamia farm in Rebero Village, Nyagatare District. Prosecutors argued that Gasana misused his position of power to obtain these benefits, offering to use his influence to expand Karinganire's business operations across the province. ALSO READ: High Court upholds six-year jail term for ex-treasury boss Rwamuganza Other notable individuals pardoned include Christian Rwankunda, the former Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure who was convicted in June 2022 and sentenced to six years for misusing public property. Additionally, Eric Serubibi, the former Director General of the Rwanda Housing Authority, and Aloys Rusizana, who were convicted as accomplices in the same case, were also sentenced to six years but have now been pardoned. Their case has been before courts of law since mid-2020, where the prosecution charged the offenders with different counts related to mismanaging public funds during the process of purchasing a building for the government in 2018. The building in question is an office block located in Kacyiru, opposite Umubano Hotel. According to prosecution, the purchase process of the building was characterised by several anomalies, which culminated in losses for the government, when Rwf 9,850,000,000 was paid for it (the building), yet it had the value of Rwf 8,045,272,800. The list of those pardoned also includes inmates from various correctional facilities: one from Gicumbi, four from Musanze, four from Ngoma, 11 from Nyagatare, one from Nyamagabe, six from Nyarugenge, three from Nyanza, and one from Rwamagana.
