Police have arrested a man accused of running a nationwide begging scheme in which people were allegedly deliberately injured or made to appear seriously ill to attract money from unsuspecting members of the public.

Janvier Nsabimana was arrested on August 12 alongside 14 other people in Kimisagara Sector, Nyarugenge District, following information provided by residents, police said.

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CIP Wellarce Gahonzire, the police spokesperson in the City of Kigali, said Nsabimana had recruited people by promising them jobs before allegedly using substances to create injuries or swelling on their genitals, making them appear to be suffering from cancer.

"The men acted as patients, while the women acted as caregivers,” Gahonzire said, adding that the group would move between markets where they begged for money.

According to police, Nsabimana would photograph the people after allegedly applying substances to their bodies. The photographs were then used during begging activities, while a caregiver would accompany the person portrayed as sick, carrying the photograph and a megaphone to appeal for assistance.

The operation, police said, extended beyond Kigali. Nsabimana had allegedly opened branches in Bugesera, Huye, Nyaruguru, Rusizi, Rubavu and Musanze.

The suspects were reportedly paid according to their roles. Police said a person acting as a patient could earn between Rwf150,000 and Rwf200,000, while caregivers and managers received about Rwf100,000.

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Gahonzire said Nsabimana could collect between Rwf1.5 million and Rwf2 million, although the amount varied depending on the location.

Police said some of the people found with injuries were taken to hospital, while investigations led to the arrest of six other suspects in Huye and four in Rubavu. Others linked to the operation remain at large, according to police.

Gahonzire said the case could involve several offences, including deliberately causing bodily harm, fraud and human trafficking.

"This was a criminal activity involving the deliberate harming of parts of a person’s body,” he said.

Nsabimana, who admitted to organising the begging scheme, said the operation began after he personally struggled to meet the cost of treatment for a tumour he was suffering from.

He said he had received treatment at the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB) and had been covering 100 percent of the medical costs himself, but eventually ran out of money to continue treatment.

He said he later turned to friends he had been living with on the streets and encouraged them to join him in begging.

Nsabimana said he would prepare the people before sending them to markets, including applying substances to their body parts and taking photographs that would make them appear to be suffering from illnesses.

"I looked for a substance that would make the illness visibly severe,” he said.

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He said he moved the group between different markets in Kigali, Bugesera, Kayonza and Huye, relying on his familiarity with the areas from his previous experience living on the streets.

Police said investigations into the case are ongoing as they pursue other people suspected to have been involved in the scheme.