Police in Rwamagana District are holding a candidate in the ongoing local government elections for allegedly using forged judicial clearance to contest in district council polls. Theoneste Sibomana, the head teacher of Rugarama Secondary School based in Rwamagana was arrested last week. It is from these council polls, that district executive committees will be elected, a process that will produce new district mayors and vice mayors later this month. Sibomana, was found guilty of embezzlement of mutuelle de santé funds in Ndera Sector, Gasabo District in 2006, and given a 5-year jail term in absentia. He had withdrawn from public limelight and retreated to a remote area, where he worked as a head teacher. “Some of us who knew his criminal record wondered when he started contesting in the ongoing elections…we blew the whistle. There is no way we could allow such a person, who embezzled money in other areas to take power in another area,” said Claude Rutinduka, a resident of Nzige Sector, where the suspect was campaigning. Inspector of Police Emmanuel Kayigi, Police spokesperson for the Eastern Province confirmed that the suspect illegally obtained the judicial paper before joining the race. “The suspect used forged Criminal Records Extract (Extrait du Casier Judiciaire) to be eligible for the contest. He probably thought he had gone far enough, but you can’t escape the long arm of the law,” Kayigi said. “Sibomana is being held by the police as investigations go on…this man was charged in court, found guilty and sentenced. This was after he committed a crime of public fund embezzlement in Ndera Sector. He has now added other offences…it is like double jeopardy,” he said. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
