Rubavu District on Thursday July 8, confirmed the resignation of executive secretaries of six cells in different sectors. The cell leaders submitted their resignation letters amidst allegations of professional misconduct, including violation of Covid-19 preventive measures, according to a Thursday post on the districts Twitter account. [They] resigned citing personal reasons, while they were being investigated for disciplinary faults and criminal offences, including assaulting citizens and detaining them in cell offices, which is contrary to the law, the Twitter post read in part. Since last week, tight preventive measures including a dusk-to-dawn lockdown, have been imposed countrywide amid a record surge in new Covid-19 cases and deaths. About three weeks ago, the Minister of Local Government, Jean-Marie Vianney Gatabazi, said that some grassroots leaders were complicit in the flouting of measures put in place to control the spread of Covid-19. He said that the errant leaders would “face the full force of the law,” he said. Other allegations include corruption and diverting complementary food nutrients (Shisha Kibondo) meant for vulnerable families. ‘Forced to resign’ However, in an interesting twist of events, on Wednesday, two of the local leaders wrote to the district mayor seeking to rescind their resignations. The New Times has seen the letters, addressed to Rubavu district mayor, which claimed that the cell leaders had been forced to write the resignation letters. I am writing requesting that you invalidate the letter I wrote, asking for the permanent termination of my contract, read one of the letters dated July 7, 2021, which was signed by Jean de Dieu Ngabonzima, the executive secretary of Kinigi cell of Nyamyumba Sector. Jean Pierre Niyitegeka, the executive secretary of Kanyirabigogo cell in Kanzenze Sector, told The New Times that ‘district authorities’ had asked him to write the resignation letter. “I wrote the letter on July 5, after one of the district officials told me to write asking for the termination of my job,” he said. “Therefore, I wrote another letter retracting the first one because I was forced to resign and the allegations of misconduct are unfounded.” The New Times tried to contact district authorities for a comment but they could not be reached by press time.
