Police have arrested a cashier of Simba Supermarket, a retail store in downtown Kigali , for allegedly stealing Rwf 6.2m from the company’s coffers.

According to prosecution, Lillian Umunyana, who was arrested early last week is expected to be arraigned before the Nyarugenge Primary Court either today or tomorrow.

"The case is being handled by the Nyarugenge Primary Court and her case is near completion so tomorrow or the following day she will appear before court,” said prosecution spokesperson Augustin Nkusi when contacted by phone yesterday.

It is alleged that the suspect swindled the money by deducting small amounts from various sales made.

He said that Umunyana will be charged with abuse of trust, a criminal offence that carries a sentence between 2 to 5 years of imprisonment on conviction.

According to the supermarket management, Umunyana used her colleagues’ computers to record daily returns while subtracting small sums of money until it amounted to Rwf 6.2 million.

In an interview with The New Times, Charles Gasana, the manager of Simba Supermarket, said that in addition to the theft by his employee, cases of shoplifting are on the increase, a factor which he says is putting his business at risk.

"Shoplifting is stunningly increasing, relevant authorities should come up with a viable solution,” he claimed.

"You catch someone shoplifting; take him or her to police but you will find the same person on the streets the next day.”

He expressed dissatisfaction in the way the cases are handled.

"Sometimes they tell us to go to Abunzi (mediators) because what has been shoplifted is not worth a court case. That is why such offenses may increase in future,” Gasana added.

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