Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) has confirmed having in custody four senior employees of Rubavu District over misusing thousands of cement bags that were found rotting away in a warehouse. The cement was meant for distribution to vulnerable residents whose homes were destroyed by heavy rains that struck the district. The detainees are Espérance Dukundimana, the director of administration and human resource, Epimaque Hagenimana the director of social protection, Martin Habimana the advisor to the district executive committee and Marie Claire Kayitesi the officer in charge of disaster management. They were arrested on Monday evening, according to sources from Rubavu District. The officials allegedly misused 5,078 bags of cement which the district received as a donation from the Ministry of Defense in 2018 to support disaster victims as well as vulnerable residents who do not have shelters. Instead of distributing the cement to the beneficiaries, the officials kept them in the district warehouse. All along, investigators who spoke to The New Times said, the bags were kept unused in the warehouse while the prospective beneficiaries never ceased to request for the cement to no avail. RIB through its Twitter handle on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of the officials, saying that “they are suspected of the crime of misusing public property meant to support vulnerable victims of disasters.” The investigation body urged whoever is responsible to manage the public property to discharge their duty with efficiency because there are laws that punish public officers for such negligence. The four are being detained at Gisenyi police station. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
