The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), formerly under the Rwanda National Police (RNP), has been incorporated into a new body, the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB).

A Cabinet statement, published on Wednesday, said RIB will be supervised by the Ministry of Justice.

Officials say the move is designed to help sort out overlapping functions in Police.

"The prime objective was about improvement in institutional capacity-building; something which was a department and now has turned into a fully fledged Bureau needs its own status, well defined functions and more authority to deliver,” Justice minister Johnston Busingye told journalists yesterday.

He was addressing a post-Cabinet news conference at the Prime Minister’s offices in Kigali.

"The Bureau will specifically be in charge of crime intelligence, which will look at the trends of crime, criminal investigations, judicial police which normally handles filed cases and transfers them to the prosecution, and the capacity of getting necessary information and treat them accordingly,” he added.

Staff, logistics unaffected

While the changes will not affect staff and logistics, since the same personnel will be maintained, Busingye said regular processes will be fast-tracked.

Moussa Fazil Harerimana, the minister for internal security, whose ministry oversees the RNP, said the Force will now be able to concentrate on other key functions.

"The Bureau’s mandate will also help in accountability and criminal procedures. Imagine a case where a police officer commits crime and has to be investigated by Police. The reforms will give RIB more powers and authority to independently handle such cases,” Harerimana said.

The Cabinet also resolved that, in line with improving institutional capacity and enhancing efficiency, the former Rwanda National Police College will become Rwanda Law Enforcement Academy, since it will no longer necessarily be reporting to Rwanda National Police, but to the Ministry of Justice.

The draft laws governing the new bodies will be submitted to Parliament for consideration.

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