Police speak out on alleged torture incident

The Inspector General of Rwanda National Police, Emmanuel Gasana, has said the police are investigating the case of Jean Bosco Nsengiyumva, a suspected thief in Bugesera district whose arms were seriously injured by handcuffs while under police custody.IGP Gasana said the investigation is meant to establish the role played by everyone involved in arresting and detaining Nsengiyumva at Ruhuha Police station in Bugesera.“We have so far summoned and interrogated police officers attached to the station,” he told a news briefing at the Ministry of Internal Security on Thursday in Kigali.Nsengiyumva was arrested on January 19, 2013 and detained at Ruhuha Police station after he was allegedly caught stealing a cash power metre from a house in Kindama cell, Ruhuha sector.He was arrested by security personnel on night patrol and taken to the Police station. Amputated But handcuffs injured his arms and later when he was taken to Kigali University Teaching Hospital (CHUK), physicians amputated his arms.The Police chief said the suspected criminal was jailed with handcuffs because of his violent behaviour.The detainee, the IGP explained, tried with much physical force to get rid of the handcuffs, and in the process he injured his arms.“He was jailed several times over different crimes and theft of cash power was the latest incident,’’ Gasana said. The IGP also said the suspect had prviously, on several occasions, been taken to Ndera Mental Hospital and to Iwawa rehabilitation and vocational skills development centre.Speaking at the same conference, the Minister for Internal Security, Sheikh Musa Fazil Harelimana said the incident was regrettable.He said despite Nsengiyumva’s possible mental disorder, the law would take its course if it’s discovered that anyone was deliberately involved in harming him.“Rwanda respects human rights the reason why we are conducting investigations,’’ he said.