Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) announced that it concluded investigations into the alleged corruption case involving suspended Minister of State in the Ministry of Youth and Culture, Edouard Bamporiki, and has since transferred his case file to prosecution. President Paul Kagame suspended Bamporiki on May 5 in what was then communicated as “owing to matters of accountability under investigation.” Details about his suspension remained scant. However, a message from RIB spokesperson, Thierry Murangira, confirmed that the case is related to corruption. “Since May 5, Edouard Bamporiki, who was under investigation on the crime of soliciting, accepting or offering illegal benefit, his case file was sent to prosecution on July 7 this year. He is accused of soliciting, accepting or offering illegal benefit, a crime provided for and punishable by article 04 of the law on fighting against corruption,” said Murangira. The mentioned article provides that any person who solicits, accepts or receives, by any means, an illegal benefit for himself or another person or accepts a promise in order to render or omit a service under his mandate or uses his position to render or omit a service commits an offence. On the punitive measures, the law states that upon conviction, he is liable to imprisonment for a term of more than five years but not more than seven years with a fine of three to five times the value of the illegal benefit solicited received. Penalties mentioned, according to the law, “apply to a person who offers or promises to offer a benefit, by any means, an illegal benefit for him/ herself or another person to have a service rendered or omitted.” It adds in part that if acts “are committed in order to perform an act contrary to law, the penalty is imprisonment for a term of more than seven years and not more than ten years with a fine of three to five times the value in Rwandan francs of the illegal benefit received or offered.” The last part of the article makes reference to the first part of the article, implies that the punishment goes up for anyone in a public office from seven to ten years jail sentence which is the highest. Following his suspension on May 5, Bamporiki went on Twitter and made an apology saying that he had indeed committed a crime of corruption and he pleaded with the president to forgive him.
