The Kicukiro primary court will start the pre-trial hearing in the case of Diogene Mulindahabi, the principal of the IPRC Kigali campus and 11 other suspects- who are being prosecuted over various cases related to the misuse of public funds. The hearing is scheduled to take place on Thursday, November 3 where the suspects are expected to seek bail. The alleged crimes resulted in a two-week temporary closure of the campus premises amid investigations, according to a statement released by the Education Ministry on Sunday, October 23. The Ministry, however, has allayed fears over the interruption of school programmes that have happened as a result of the temporary closure of the campus, saying that once the investigation is concluded, they will ensure that students catch up with the period lost during the two weeks. According to Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) spokesperson, Thierry Murangira, the cases were submitted to Prosecution on October 25, and the suspects have also been arrested in different periods. The alleged crimes they are being accused of include the use of forged documents, embezzlement, and theft. Upon conviction on the charge of embezzlement, a person faces imprisonment between seven years to 10 years and a fine that is three to five times the embezzled amount. On the charge of forgery of documents, a person is liable to an imprisonment term of more than seven but not more than 10 years, and a fine between Rwf 2 million and Rwf 3 million. On the crime of theft, a person is liable to a jail term of one to two years, and a fine between Rwf 1 million and Rwf 2 million.
