The primary court of Nyarugenge on Tuesday denied bail to Alex Kanyankole who is accused of favouritism and soliciting for and receiving illegal benefits in order to offer a service. The court said that there is already substantial evidence implicating the former CEO of the Development Bank of Rwanda, which requires more investigation as he remanded him for one month. The court also opined that Kanyankole’s case carries more than two years of imprisonment on conviction which according to the law, such suspect cannot be granted bail before thorough investigation has been concluded. Neither Kanyankole nor his lawyers Alice Umuriza and Emmanuel Rukangira attended the session for the ruling. Kanyankole, who was arrested at the beginning of this month, had last week appeared in court requesting bail, pending the case to begin in substance. The judge said that the suspect, upon release, might jeopardize ongoing investigations on the total loss the bank incurred during his leadership. Kanyankole was CEO of BRD between 2013 and 2017, the period within which he is accused of having committed the crimes for which he stands accused. The judge added that as part of the investigations, there are employees and clients at the bank who are pinning the accused, from whom testimonies have to be collected. “Since there are individuals who pin Kanyankole for the crimes he is accused of, it is important that the suspect stays in custody as investigations continue,” the judge said. The judge also added that since Kanyonkole accepts that he received some gifts from a client to whom a loan facility was extended by the bank, it is yet another reason to remand him until thorough investigation is carried out. Kanyankole had last week said that he received gifts from a client called Abdou Gahima but insisted that they were ‘small things’ that he could buy himself. The gifts included a bio disc and eye glasses which he said he never used and the owner took them back. Court averred that there is further evidence that need investigation while the suspect is remanded including an email Kanyankole wrote to one of the loan officers at the bank directing them to approve a loan to a certain client. Meanwhile, appearing before court last week, Kanyankole had requested for bail to be able to get medical attention. He had also added that he was a person of integrity who never failed to turn up for any of the sessions he had with investigators spanning months, prior to his arrest.
