Police in Nyamirambo are currently holding a man who was arrested after leasing a firearm.Felecien Ntibaringanira, 32, was arrested on Saturday in Nyabugogo after hiring a pistol from one of his associates in Muhima sector whose name we cannot mention as investigations are ongoing.Ntibaringanira, a tax collector at Murunda market in Nyagatare District, hired the firearm for Rwf 100,000 to kill one of his former colleagues, Gilbert Habiyambere, after the two developed differences.According to Ntibaringanira, he had planned to kill Habiyambere because of assaulting him on suspicion that he took his wife. Ntibaringanira said he had developed severe wounds from Habiyambere beatings. Habiyambere was arrested but later released as Ntibaringanira requested that he be released thinking that Habiyambere had learnt his lesson. Ntibaringanira claims that despite his arrest and release, Habiyambere continued to beat him up.“I realised that Habiyambere was going to kill me eventually, so I decided to look for someone who could lease me a gun to kill him and return it back,” Ntibaringanira said.On arriving in Kigali, Ntibaringanira met with his colleagues in Nyabugogo where the exchange was made. While leaving, they were immediately intercepted by Police but his colleague escaped. If convicted, Ntibanyurwa is likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment, according to article 140 of the new Penal code.Police spokesperson, Superintendent Theos Badege, said owning firearms illegally is a serious crime that is heavily punishable by law.“Those who suffer injustice should not take matters into their own hands but instead seek Police help, or even courts of law, so that justice can prevail,” Badege said. While the exact number of people licensed to own personal arms could not be established by press time, Badege said when one requests to own a fire arm and Police finds the reasons given are legitimate, it is provided. He said the fire arms seeker is trained on the usage, provided with proper storage and monitored constantly to establish whether the firearm is used for the stated purposes.
