Two women will on Thursday, January 27 be produced before a judge at Kicukiro Primary Court where they are expected to be formally charged for having a role in the death of Elsie Akeza Rutiyomba, a five-year-old whose death gripped the country a couple of weeks ago. For the first time, Marie-Chantal Mukanzabarushimana (Akeza’s stepmother) and Dative Nirere, the house help in the home of the deceased’s father, will be arraigned in court. The duo was arrested earlier this month on different days following preliminary investigation that officials said linked them to the death of Akeza. According to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), a reconstruction of the crime scene revealed that there were reasonable grounds for suspecting that the two may have been involved in Akezas death. Akeza was laid to rest on January 18 while her tragic story dominated social media platforms in Rwanda over the past weeks. Her body was found in a water tank on January 14 from her father’s home in Kicukiro District, where she had gone the previous day. Akeza, who was in her first year of primary school, was the only daughter of her mother, and was described as a playful child who loved singing.
