Rwanda National Police

A taxi-moto operator said to have been working with thieves to transport stolen items was arrested on Sunday in Kicukiro District.

Police said that Benjamin Tuyishimire, 22, was arrested in Masaka Sector carrying electrics, which were stolen in Gako Cell.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Marie-Gorrette Umutesi, the Police spokesperson for the City of Kigali, said that the arrest of Tuyishimire followed a complaint filled by Chinese nationals in Masaka about the alleged theft of their betting machines.

"Law enforcement organs in Masaka responded immediately but in the process they received information from local residents about a commercial motorcyclist whom they saw transporting a betting machine," CIP Umutesi said.

"Indeed, when security organs tracked down the alleged motorcyclist that night in Cyimo cell, they caught him with the same machine which was stolen from the Chinese and other stolen electronics," she added.

According to local residents, Tuyishimire works with thieves who break into houses especially at night targeting valuables including television sets, computers, home theatres and gas cylinders.

Tuyishimire was last year also implicated in the theft of television sets from different homes in Kicukiro.

CIP Umutesi also mentioned another motorcyclist, who was caught in Jali Sector of Gasabo District transporting a calf, and warned of "breaking the law."

"There are lawful ways of transporting livestock but not on a motorcycle," she said.

She warned taxi-moto operators against abetting crimes and called for information sharing on "errant motorcyclists, who engage in criminal activities and tarnish the image of motorcycle transport business."