Mutsindashyaka’s woes continue

KIGALI - The woes of the embattled former State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Theoneste Mutsindashyaka, seem to be accumulating day-by-day. The police have now forwarded his file to the Office of the Prosecutor General for prosecution.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Theoneste Mutsindashyaka

KIGALI - The woes of the embattled former State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Theoneste Mutsindashyaka, seem to be accumulating day-by-day.
The police have now forwarded his file to the Office of the Prosecutor General for prosecution.

According to a source in the Office of the Prosecutor General, Mutsindashyaka was interrogated for two days (Thursday and Friday last week) as investigations into his case continue. 

"His file has been brought to us and we have completed interrogating him, we are now carrying on further investigations to verify the results from what he told us during the interrogations,” Alphonse Hitiyaremye, Deputy Chief Prosecutor said by phone.

Asked when Mutsindashyaka will be presented before court, Hitiyaremye said it will be delayed since there is no pre-detention trial.

"We usually present such suspects to the court quickly because we want them to be temporarily detained in case we sense uncertainties that he might jeopardise farther investigations or escape justice, but for Mutsindashyaka, he was sentenced by Kacyiru primary court and he was immediately imprisoned,” Hitiyaremye added.

The former minster was arrested last week shortly before he was convicted for violating tendering procedures for construction of the Eastern Province headquarters.
He was sentenced to one year in jail and the presiding judge ordered for his immediate imprisonment.

According to the prosecution, Mutsindashyaka is accused of abuse of public funds, forgery, massive accumulation of wealth and under-declaration of wealth.

He is accused of concealing his foreign bank accounts in Belgium, Canada and USA plus four heavy trucks and several plots from the Ombudsman’s office in disregard to the leadership code.

The prosecution is still tight-lipped on Mutsindashyaka’s worth or what he declared.

Ends