Prosecution takes over case of suspects in Elsie Akeza’s death
Thursday, January 20, 2022

Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) will today on January 20 submit to the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA) the case of two people who are suspected to be involved in the death of Elsie Akeza Rutiyomba.

The suspects are Akeza’s stepmother Marie-Chantal Mukanzabarushimana and Dative Nirere, the housemaid, according to Thierry B. Murangira, the Spokesperson of a RIB.

"The housemaid was arrested on January 14 after the incident while the Stepmother was arrested the following day, on January 15,” he said

Murangira previously told The New Times that the duo was arrested after a preliminary investigation.

"Crime scene reconstruction revealed that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the two may have been involved in Akeza's death,” he said.

Her tragic story dominated social media platforms in Rwanda in the past week.

A five-year-old, Akeza’s body was found in a water tank on January, 14, from her father’s home Busanza Cell, Kanombe Sector in Kicukiro District.

Akeza, who was in her first year of primary school, was the only daughter of her mother, a playful child who loved to sing.

She was laid to rest on Tuesday, January 18.