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Kinyarwanda
A 26-year old man has been arrested in Kigali following investigations into an alleged impersonation of local leaders and conning unsuspecting residents of their hard earned money.
Daniel Nkundimana was arrested on Friday in Kigali Sector of Kicukiro district and is currently held at Remera Police Station as further investigations commence.
Police Spokesperson for Central Region, SP Modeste Mbabazi, noted that Nkundimana was using varied false identities such as cell leader, sector executive secretary, a security or justice personnel, to defraud people.
“The suspect habitually came to police premises or other public institutions where residents make claims. After listening to their problems stealthily, he would take their phone numbers and call them, claiming to be a local leader who can solve their problems if they paid a certain amount of money,” SP Mbabazi said.
"Investigations are still on to ascertain the number of people he conned and the amount of money."
“However, through Police’s good relationship with the citizens, this man’s activities were brought to our notice, we investigated and caught him red-handed as he was attempting to solicit money from one of his unsuspecting victims.”
SP Mbabazi further warned the public against utilizing illegal services of unscrupulous people and urged them to use legal channels in order to acquire public services.
“Those who have issues to solve should report through right channels, rather than use of illegal services and at times end up cheated by such criminals.”
“If you are approached by anyone claiming that they work for an institution, they should show you proof. Always be willing to work with police to provide timely alerts whenever you experience such illegal behavior.”
Article 318 of the penal code states that anyone who obtains the property of another person by fraud or by intentionally using false names, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of three to five years and a fine between Rwf3 million and Rwf5 million.
