Governor Kabaija’s email causes row in Kacyiru court

KACYIRU - The Former Executive Secretary of the Eastern Province, Charles Kasana wants Governor Ephraim Kabaija to appear in court and explain why his confidential e-mail to him ended up in the hands of prosecutors. Prosecution is now using Kasana’s e-mail he wrote to Governor Kabaija on April 8, 2009 against him in court. Kasana said he does not rule out a possibility that the Governor had “other motives” by writing to him. “May be he was trying to fix me in this case,” Kasana told court. The lawyer said the fact that Kabaija started his e-mail from a happy note, then office work and now same e-mail in court makes “us think he was doing this in bad faith”. Court heard that Kabaija first wrote to Kasana consoling him on stormy rains that had destroyed his house in Eastern Province while away in Japan on a nine-month course. But the governor concluded the e-mail by asking Kasana to explain whether Alexis Murarura, owner of EMA, a construction company contracted to build controversial provincial headquarters had grounds to demand additional funds. In reply, Kasana told Kabaija that the Ministry of Infrastructure and InterTech, a consultancy firm charged to monitor the headquarters construction work had found it necessary to amend the contract. “The Governor himself had all documents about the amendments since it had been done openly. I don’t know why he was asking me yet I was not on duty,” Kasana wondered. “I am requesting court president, Claudine Nyiramikenke to summon Kabaija and explain how this e-mail ended up in the hands of prosecution,” pleaded Kasana. According prosecution, Kasana allegedly admitted in the e-mail to Kabaija that he had met Mugarura before the amendment was done, a claim he has repeatedly denied. By press time, this newspaper could not independently verify whether the e-mail was given to prosecution voluntarily or the Governor himself was interrogated. Kasana and Vincent Gatwabuyege are charged with awarding EMA, a Rwf 1.7billion tender in 2007 to construct the headquarters of Eastern Province without following standard procedures. Others in court over the same case include Théoneste Mutsindashyaka, former State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Ministry of Infrastructure, Marie Claire Mukasine, the Director of Finance Alexis Karani and Jean Marie Vianney Makombe. Ends

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Governor Kabaija’s email causes row in Kacyiru court