Over 60 graft cases reported between January and May- Ombudsman

A total of 69 corruption cases were reported during the first half of 2009 according to a report released by the Anti-Corruption Technical Committee. The headed by the Ombudsman’s office was tasked to investigate corruption cases country-wide. During a press briefing on the report, the Ombudsman Tito Rutaremara attributed the committee’s success in unearthing the corruption cases on a mutual collaboration between the corruption fighting bodies and whistle blowers. “Many of the cases uncovered by this committee were a result of collaboration between the anti-corruption agencies and the whistle blowers; this signifies that the population is getting aware of the need to collectively fight the vice,” he said. Rutaremara also noted that the increasing number of corruption suspects arrested and cases unearthed does not mean that corruption is increasing, but a result of the extraordinary effort by both the government and the population to fight it. Among the cases unearthed by the committee include embezzlement of government funds, nepotism, flaws in allocation of tenders among others. The report also indicates that Kigali eclipsed other regions in having many cases, with 30, followed by the Southern Province which recorded 12. It was also revealed that a law is being worked upon to protect whistle blowers from the wrath of the corrupt officials but the nature of this law was not delved. Several government officials have been arrested following the strengthened efforts to uproot the vice and cases are currently before different courts of law. Ends

National

Over 60 graft cases reported between January and May- Ombudsman