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Kinyarwanda
Police in Kicukiro District is holding a man suspected of attempting to offer a bribe to another man, who had discovered his fraudulent acts of forging documents of various institutions in order to acquire a loan from Equity bank amounting to Rwf30 million.
Thacien Ruhatana was apprehended red-handed on May 15 in Kagarama Sector as he tried to silence a member of DASSO in the area with a bank cheque valued at Rwf1 million.
DASSO is an abbreviation of District Administrative Security Support Organ.
It is said that Rutahana, who was processing documents to acquire the said loan from an Equity Bank branch in Nyabugogo, forged a loan clearance form of another commercial bank, Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) and Gasabo District tax receipts, which were also a prerequisite to acquire the loan.
On identifying that he had been noticed by a member of DASSO, he decided to go through the latter's spouse with a cheque to silence him from revealing his unlawful acts.
Things, however, backfired when the would-be accomplices took bold and lawful decision to report the matter to Police, which led to his arrest.
The cheque was found signed in the DASSO member's names. Ruhatana is currently detained at Kicukiro Police Station as investigations continue.
Superitendent (SP) Modeste Mbabazi, Police spokesperson for the central region, commended the DASSO personnel and his wife for acting responsibly, and "denying to be accomplices and to take dirty money."
"Rwf1 million is a lot of money that would have tempted them to keep quiet and look the other side while Rutahana continues to acquire the loan through fraudulent means, but they decided to put the law ahead of unlawful wealth, which is a brave and commendable act that everyone should embrace, if we have to combat graft-related malpractices in the country," Supt. Mbabazi said.
He said the suspect is facing two charges; forgery and attempted bribery.
He warned against such fraudulent acts adding that community policing has become part and parcel of everyone's responsibility and that whoever that will be caught will face it rough as the law stipulates.
Under article 609 of the penal code, "any person who forges or alters documents by forged signature or fingerprint, falsifying documents or signatures or impersonation, forging agreements, its provisions, obligations, discharged obligations shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of more than five to seven years and a fine of Rwf300, 000 to Rwf3 million.
Article 641 states that any person who offers or proposes a gift or any other illegal benefit, to a person in charge of a service, mission or mandate or who promises it in order to render a service or to refrain from carrying out any usual duties, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of more than five to seven years and a fine twice to ten times the value of the illegal benefit he or she offered or promised.
