Police in Kicukiro District is holding a 29-year-old man for allegedly impersonating government officials to commit fraud. Charles Mwumvaneza is alleged to have forged a service card and posed as an official in charge of construction inspection in the City of Kigali through which he would solicit money from people through threats. At the time of his arrest on November 25, Mwumvaneza was demanding Rwf150,000 from one Gisele Ufitinema, whom he was attempting to blackmail that he was constructing a residential house in Kicukiro, illegally. This prompted Ufitinema to go to Masaka Sector to seek explanation as to why she was being instructed to halt the construction and demanding bribes, despite having a construction permit. Sector officials immediately informed police which arrived at the construction site, where Mwumvaneza was apparently waiting for Ufitinema to bring the Rwf150, 000 she had apparently agreed that she would pay. “Our officers found Mwumvaneza at the site with a forged service card in the names of Charles Nkurunziza,” said the Police spokesperson for the Central region, Superintendent Modeste Mbabazi. It later emerged that Mwumvaneza was also soliciting another bribe of Rwf1.5 million from another person on similar grounds. Mwumvaneza was last month released from jail after completing his sentence for the same crime of impersonation. “Investigations are still going on to ascertain the number of people he could have conned and the amount of money. We urge people to always be fast to report such incidences to that such individuals are arrested, said Mbabazi. Article 318 also stipulates that any person who, intentionally obtains a property belonging to another person fraudulently or by using false names, to give rise to hope or fear of harm and obtains a part or whole of a fortune shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of three to five years and a fine of Rwf3 million to Rwf5 million. Article 609 of the penal code states that “Any person who forges or alters documents by forged signature or fingerprint, falsifying documents or signatures or impersonation,forging agreements, its provisions, obligations, discharged obligations shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of more than five to seven years and a fine of Rwf300,000 to Rwf3 million.
