Ngoma Intermediate Court in Ngoma District has ruled to acquit the former Vice-Chancellor of the defunct University of Kibungo (UNIK), Prof. Egide Karuranga, nine months after he was arrested on accusations of mismanaging the university. The ruling was passed on Friday, April 16. Karuranga was arrested by Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) in July last year for alleged favoritism and mismanagement of the university’s finances, which was reportedly unearthed by an audit. It was during Karurangas leadership when UNIK, formerly known as the Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Education of Kibungo (INATEK), struggled financially, which led to its permanent closure by the Ministry of Education last year. Following the closure, Karuranga was arrested on allegations that he failed to explain in detail how he used over Rwf700 million of the money lent to the university during his tenure as the Vice-Chancellor. Karuranga has been detained at Mageragere Prison until his acquittal, and the presiding judge ruled that he should be immediately released from prison. Prosecution accused Karuranga of making a decision based on favoritism, acquaintance and hatred as well mismanagement of public accounts when he was the Vice-Chancellor of University of Kibungo. The prosecution had demanded that Karuranga be sentenced to between five and seven years and a fine of between Rwf1 and 2 million for favoritism, plus an additional five to seven years and fine of Rwf3 to 5 million for the charge of mismanagement of public accounts. However, court ruled that prosecution failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt which led to the acquittal. For instance, on the charge of favoritism in the awarding of tenders, court ruled that there was no evidence to suggest that the accused had the unilateral powers to do so. “Prosecution had the mandate to show the specific role of Karuranga in the awarding of these tenders which they did not do,” ruled the court. On other decisions for which the embattled don had allegedly made which led the university into making losses, the judge ruled that the fact that all these decisions were backed by the university’s board, absolves Karuranga.
