Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) has arrested 81 people suspected of playing different roles in the mass cheating that marred the 2025/26 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), with 39 of them paraded on September 5 as investigations continue into the remaining suspects.
The suspects, according to RIB, include local government officials, district and sector education officers, school head-teachers, teachers and other school staff suspected of facilitating examination malpractice.
They are being investigated for three offences: abuse of functions, breach of professional secrecy, and forgery, falsification and use of forged documents.
Thierry Murangira, RIB spokesperson, said the 39 suspects paraded on September 5 represent only part of the investigation, with the remaining 42 still in custody as investigators continue gathering evidence.
Regarding the 42 who were not paraded he said investigators are working to establish the specific role played by each suspect before the case proceeds further.
"The evidence is being put together until the role of every person is established,” Murangira said.
Who has been arrested?
According to RIB, the suspects fall into six categories.
They include two vice mayors in charge of social affairs and economic development from Kirehe and Nyamasheke districts respectively; four district education directors from Kirehe, Ngoma, Nyamasheke and Rubavu; and one sector education director from Nyamasheke District.
RIB also arrested 13 head-teachers, four from Kirehe, one from Ngoma, one from Nyamasheke, five from Rubavu and two from Kayonza.
Another 17 teachers are among those arrested. They include four from Kirehe, three from Ngoma, one from Kayonza, five from Nyamasheke and four from Rubavu.
Two other school staff members: a school accountant from Kirehe and a librarian from Nyamasheke, are also in custody.
The arrests were made in five districts, Kirehe, Ngoma, Kayonza, Nyamasheke and Rubavu.
Rubavu recorded the highest number, with 35 people arrested, followed by Kirehe with 21, Nyamasheke with 15, Ngoma with seven and Kayonza with three.
Of those arrested, RIB paraded 11 suspects from Kirehe, five from Ngoma, all three from Kayonza, 10 from Nyamasheke and 10 from Rubavu.
Suspected cheating happened before and during exams
Murangira said preliminary investigations indicate that the alleged malpractice was not limited to the examination period, but may have been organised and facilitated both before and during the examinations.
He said the investigation is still expanding to other suspects and districts, warning that the case should serve as a lesson to anyone who might consider facilitating cheating in national examinations.
RIB also reminded teachers and other education officials that examination malpractice is a criminal offence and said it will continue working with other institutions to combat it.
7,188 pupils ordered to retake exams
The arrests come days after the Ministry of Education confirmed that 7,188 primary school students must retake the 2025/26 Primary Leaving Examinations after investigations uncovered widespread cheating.
The ministry announced the decision on August 30, saying investigations had established that cheating occurred in 254 examination rooms across the country.
"Some of the malpractice was organised and facilitated by adults entrusted with administering the examinations,” the Ministry said.
The affected learners had initially faced the possibility of having their examinations cancelled, which is the normal consequence of examination malpractice.
However, the ministry officials said the circumstances warranted giving them another opportunity to sit the examinations.
The retake examinations were done on September 2-4, with the results expected to be released on September 11 and school starts on September 18 on those who have been affected.
One of the biggest examination malpractice cases
The Minister of Education, Joseph Nsengimana, previously described the more than 7,000 suspected cases as the highest number of examination malpractice cases ever reported in Rwanda’s national examinations.
A total of 286,579 learners from 3,895 schools sat the 2025/26 PLE, with NESA reporting an overall pass rate of 82.2 per cent.