Kicukiro Primary Court will on Tuesday, January 25, issue a bail ruling in the case of Egide Igabe who was arrested this month on suspicion of using forged documents. This follows the pre-trial hearing that was held on January 20. During the hearing, Igabe admitted the crime again and requested to be released on the basis that he had been cooperative since the day he was arrested among other mitigating reasons. However, Prosecution requested for his remand, saying that there are reasonable grounds to suspect him and fear he may escape justice. In a previous interview with The New Times Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB)’s spokesperson, Thierry B Murangira had said that Igabe confessed to having forged an equivalence document from the High Education Council (HEC). It is alleged that he was trying to authenticate a PhD certificate that he obtained from a school and wanted to use it to get employment. Murangira further explained that he forged the equivalence with the names of the current HEC executive director but used the signature of her predecessor and that was the main reason he was being investigated to see if his degree is authentic. A few days later AIU commented on Twitter confirming that Igabe completed his PhD studies at their university. However, later on, HEC released a statement cancelling all academic equivalences it had issued to graduates from AIU, saying the American-based institution was not accredited by any agency. “The claimed accrediting agency for Atlantic International University which is Accreditation Service for International colleges (ASIC) is not a government agency in charge of accreditation of institutions of higher learning in the United Kingdom (UK) or any other country” read HEC’s statement.
