Top Rwanda Athletics Federation officials have been summoned to the Remera CID offices for questioning over alleged mismanagement and embezzlement of federation funds.

The officials in question are Secretary General Constantine Twajamahoro and Treasurer Nadine Muterinkindi. They are reported to have failed to account for Rwf5 millions meant for this year’s Kigali international marathon, which was held in May.

The federation’s president Supt. Gerard Ntare explained to Times Sport the reasons why the duo was summoned by Police.

He said issues related with embezzlement of money of funds in any government or public institution are dealt with by the Police.

"Mismanagement of funds in the federation is a matter that is going to be investigated by the CID. I think they were summoned to explain how the mentioned amount of money was misused,” Ntare said yesterday.

He added, "We held an audit into the said funds but the audit team has not finished its work. However this is an internal audit which can’t stop the Police from doing their work.”

Conflict of interest

However, Ntare, himself a senior Police officer is reported to have played a big role in having his two subordinates summoned at the CID and even locked up as investigations go on ahead of the scheduled federation general assembly on Sunday.

The absence of the two officials from the general assembly would do little to help calm the volatile situation. The duo is key witnesses, who would help the general assembly get to the bottom of the whole issue who that has dragged on for years now.

Sunday’s general assembly has been funded by the Rwanda Olympic Committee to a tune of Rwf500, 000 but inside information indicate that Supt. Ntare is doing everything "within his powers”  to stop the meeting.

The National Olympic Committee has set up an independent audit team to get to the bottom of the whole saga and it is supposed to come up with the findings during the Sunday’s general assembly.

Longstanding saga

In the last three years, the athletics federation has embroiled in scandals of embezzlement of funds but this time it threatens to tear the body apart after top officials took sides and started throwing accusations and counter accusations against each other.

The longstanding sage has pitted several federation officials including the president (Ntare) alongside his 2nd vice Louis Rurangirwa and the federation advisers Empimaque Nizeyimana and Jean Pierre Munyaburanga against SG Twajamahoro, Dieudonne Disi (1st vice president) and the treasurer, Muterinkindi.

After finding out that over Frw5m from the federation coffers was unaccounted for, the federation suspended Twajamahoro because he was reported to be "principal architect for the loss of the money”.

In 2009, Apollinaire Munyangoga, the then Secretary General of the federation, was sacked after failing to account for Frw700, 000 after that year’s Kigali international marathon.

Last year, two officials in the federation beat up the then Secretary General Jack Ngabonziza after failing to agree on the allocation of funds.

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