Mutsindashyaka to appear in court

Kacyiru Court of Lower Instance has ordered former State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Théoneste Mutsindashyaka, to appear in court on September 10, to explain his alleged role in a tender scam in the Eastern Province. The same court also ordered the permanent secretary, in the Ministry of infrastructure Marie Claire Mukasine, her assistant Alexis Karani and Jean Vianney Makombe to appear before court. The directive by Judge Claudine Nyiramikenke, is seen as a big blow to the prosecution which had earlier maintained that Mukasine, Karani and Makombe had nothing to answer in court. The prosecution had earlier told court that basing on investigations, the three never intentionally committed the crime According to prosecution, the officials cannot be taken to court because the case against them is so weak and can not be sustained. “They must appear in court and this directive should be respected,” Nyiramikenke ruled yesterday. “It’s not the work of the prosecution to clear suspects.”Nyiramikenke said the country is protected by the laws and the prosecutors “must act within the rules”. The Judge said the officials named should appear in court as suspects and not witnesses because they are party to the case involving former provincial official Charles Kasana and Vincent Gatwabuyenge who served as the Permanent Secretary, in the Ministry of Infrastructure. Gatwabuyege and Kasana are charged with awarding a construction firm, Entreprise Mugarura Alexis (EMA), a multi-billion tender in 2007 to construct the headquarters of Eastern Province without following standing procedures. Mutsindasyaka is being summoned in his capacity as former Governor of the Eastern Province, under whose term the tender was awarded. According to a charge sheet submitted in court by the prosecution on July 23, Mutsindashyaka, is suspected to have informed EMA that it had won a tender a month before the Rwanda Public Procurement Authority (RPPA) pronounced the winner. On August 11, this year, Rose Mukantagengwa, a prosecutor at Kacyiru Court wrote to Nyiramikenke, saying prosecution did not have enough evidence to arraign Mutsindashyaka and the others before the court. According to Nyiramikenke, prosecution had earlier interrogated Mutsindashyaka on June, 11 2009 as a suspect. The court heard yesterday that Mutsindashyaka was quizzed by prosecution on why he signed a contract with EMA yet it was the work of the then Executive Secretary, Kasana. It also emerged that Mutsindashyaka wrote several letters to the Ministry of Infrastructure, requesting it to speed up the payments. Mukasine and Karani reportedly approved money for EMA even after the company had been named in the scandal. The Judge stressed that the law should not be applied selectively. Mugarura won a tender with a bid of Rwf1.7bn but he continued asking for additional money almost double the original offer yet one is not allowed to request for more than 20 % of the original bid. Ends

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Mutsindashyaka to appear in court