Local defence personnel held over murder

HUYE - Police in Huye have arrested two local defence personnel who allegedly beat to death an elderly man for illegally collecting firewood from a forest owned by the Institute of Scientific and Agricultural Research (ISAR). The deceased has been identified as 59-year old Thomas Mpozanyo, a resident of Tumba sector. He was allegedly beaten to death while collecting firewood from the arboretum forest near the National University of Rwanda last Friday. Christophe Ubonabaseka a worker in ISAR, the branch in arboretum forest, said that he found local defence personnel with a seriously wounded Mpozanyo at the nearby ISAR office. “They were dragging the seriously wounded man,” said Ubonabaseka who watched the incident from his office window. Efforts to save Mpozanyo’s life were futile as he was pronounced dead on arrival at the University Teaching Hospital in Butare. Frank Murenzi, the head of local defence personnel in the district condemned the behaviour of his officers. Post-mortem results could not be obtained by press time. Ends