Property worth Rwf100 m stolen from IPRC Kigali – Prosecution

Prosecution has told court that 19 staff of IPRC Kigali are accused of stealing school property worth Rwf113 million. The revelation was made during the bail hearing of the accused, who are all in custody, at Kicukiro primary court on Tuesday, November 15. Besides theft, the suspects are accused of forgery and embezzlement, among other charges. Among the accused include the school principal Diogene Murindahabi, the director of finance Thomas Vander Muhimpundu, storekeeper Jean Claude Nabo and the plumber, one Venuste Hakizimana, some teachers and security personnel among others. All but one suspect pleaded not guilty and requested for bail, citing different reasons. According to prosecution, Mulindahabi is accused of having stolen pressure pumps and six-meter steel bars. In his defence denied any involvement in the disappearance of the pumps. “Witness said that the pump I have is similar to the one moved from former Eto Kicukiro (current IPRC-Kigali) in 2012 while the one I have was made in 2015,” he explained. In addition, he pointed out that the steel bars he is accused of stealing were actually not from the school but he bought them from a factory and has proof of payment. Meanwhile, the storekeeper is accused of forging an inventory for assorted materials worth Rwf80m, which reportedly were all taken from the store on a single day of July 30, 2022. The inventory in question justifies stock of construction materials, electric and plumbing materials, claiming that they were in store yet they weren’t there. In his defence, Nabo told court that he compiled the inventory when he resigned and wanted to give a picture of the store before he left the school for another job. On why all these materials were signed off in a single day yet the materials were taken at different times, Nabo said that there were times of imergency where materials were taken from the stores and not signed off to reflect the actual inventory. The prosecution requested the court to remand all the accused urguing that there is reasonable ground to suspect that they committed the crimes they are being accused of. It was also heard in court that some materials have been recovered from various places across the country, including in the homes of the accused. Court will rule on bail hearing on Friday, November 18. IPRC Kigali was late October closed for two weeks by the Ministry of Education to pave way for investigations, after it was declared a crime scene, following the discovery of alleged theft of assorted equipment belonging to the school. Students were allowed back in school on November 7,

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Property worth Rwf100 m stolen from IPRC Kigali – Prosecution