On Monday, November 30, Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) paraded a couple to the media, who are suspected of using forged documents to sell a plot of land that is not theirs. The duo is Jean Mbarushimana and Saphia Iribagiza. According to RIB, the suspects were arrested last week while masquerading as a married couple that was trying to sell their property. They allegedly forged identification cards of the couple that legally own the land they wanted to fleece and all they did was replacing their photos with theirs, and also forged the land title. According to Godfrey Kayumba, the owner of the plot that was to be sold by the fraudsters, one of his friends called him asking whether it is true that he was selling his land. “My friend called Thierry was contacted by one land broker and told him that he had land he wanted him to buy, and later called me to know how genuine the information was, because they told him the amount that he knew very well that I wouldn’t accept for that land,” he explained. He added: “I told my friend to pretend that he is going to buy that land and ask the suspects to meet him with all necessary documents. I was shocked to find that all documents (land title, his ID card, and that of his wife) they had forged were almost genuine, apart from very minor mistakes they had made in the land title and the ID of my wife.” Kayumba noted that he does not know how the suspects came across his documents and those of his wife. Addressing the press at Kigali Metropolitan Police headquarters, Thierry Murangira, the Spokesperson of RIB, noted that the public should remain vigilant. “As technology evolves, con artists are taking advantage of it to forge documents and steal people’s properties. We urge the public to be vigilant and where necessary consult and verify with relevant institutions before buying a given fixed asset such as land,” he said. He also reiterated that: “To those involved in these negative acts, they should leave it, otherwise, the long arm of justice will not spare them.” Murangira said that the investigation is still ongoing to determine how the alleged crime was committed, and later file the case to the prosecution. If found guilty of forgery, the suspects could face imprisonment of between 5 and 7 years and/or a fine of Rwf3 million and Rwf5 million.
