Former minister Mitali on Interpol wanted list

The International Police (Interpol) has issued a red notice against the immediate former Rwandan ambassador to Ethiopia, Protais Mitali who is wanted by Rwandan judicial authorities for prosecution. According to the extract of the red notice published on the Interpol website, Mitali who also served as Rwanda’s Minister of Sports and Culture, is wanted for embezzlement of funds and theft. The arrest warrant follows his indefinite expulsion from Liberal Party (PL) for which he was president, and a lawsuit filed against him for misappropriation of party funds early this year. The party alleged that following an internal audit conducted from January 2013 to June 2014, financial irregularities were exposed with reasons to believe that Mitali withdrew money and never accounted for it. The audit indicated that about Rwf63 million had been unaccounted for. Protais Mitali. (Net photo) Mitali is alleged to have also used his authority as the head of the party to dupe other party officials who were co-signatories into signing cheques. After being presented with the allegations, Mitali quit his position in the party, saying he was not in position to discharge his responsibilities while out of the country. The development led him to be recalled from his ambassadorial position following complaints of suspected embezzlement. According to the Police who work closely with Interpol when issuing such red notices, Mitali had since been requested to present himself to respond to the charges and facilitate investigations. Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent of Police Celestin Twahirwa said that Mitali fled from his diplomatic posting at the time he was being investigated. “After being requested to return to facilitate investigations, he fled leaving us with no option but to contact Interpol to issue a red notice,” Twahirwa said. Efforts by The New Times to reach top party officials for a comment were futile by press time. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Former minister Mitali on Interpol wanted list