Rwanda National Police

A man said to have been issuing forged documents was arrested on Tuesday in Gitega Sector of Nyarugenge District with forged stamps for at least 77 government and private institutions.

David Kayisire was at the time trying to defraud one of the unsuspecting women, when Police officers, who were trailing all his moves, caught him red-handed.

Among the stamps he was found with include those of commercial banks like Bank of Kigali, Equity Bank and Banque Populaire du Rwanda. Others include courts, national land centre, Police Traffic and Road Safety Department, hospitals; universities and secondary schools, among many others.

He was also found with varied forged documents including those of the University of Lay Adventists of Kigali (UNILAK), Kigali Institute of Management (KIM), Muhima hospital, receipts for various institutions, birth certificates and public insurance—Mutuelle du santé.

Kayisire, while speaking to the media on Wednesday, admitted to the crime, and narrated how he was conducting the criminal acts.

“I have been into this for a while now, and majority of my clients are students and those seeking certain levels of education for varied reasons,” Kayisire told journalists.

He added: “I issued academic transcripts for the University of Kigali and University of Rwanda; terminal reports and other documents for schools like Groupe Scolaire St. Aloys and Groupe Scolaire Rwisirabo.”

GS St. Aloys and GS Rwisirabo are located in Rwamagana and Muhanga districts, respectively.

According to Kayisire, he was introduced to these criminal acts by his friend and former roommate, whom he only identified as Mutabazi.

At the time of his arrest, the suspect was issuing a forged document for Gisozi Sector in Gasabo District. The woman had been denied some services by local authorities in Gisozi on founded grounds, when she was approached by Kayisire, who demanded Rwf20, 000 for the service.

He was arrested receiving the money and found with the same forged document which he was handing over to the woman. Gisozi is among the four sectors, which the suspect had also forged their stamps.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Marie Gorret Umutesi, the Police spokesperson for the City of Kigali, said that the arrest of Kayisire resulted from a tip-off from the would-be victim.

“We applaud those who continue to say no to criminality and reporting wrongdoers. Services are offered at known officers or place but not on streets or in any building,” CIP Umutesi said.

“This is a crime of forgery and usurpation of power, which is punishable under article 276 of the penal code,”

The instrument states that “any person who, in any manner, forges or alters documents by  forged signature or fingerprint, falsifying documents or signatures or impersonation, forging  agreements, its provisions, obligations, or discharged obligations commits an offence.

“Any person, who, with fraudulent intention, produces a false written document, causes to write false statements or produces a conflicting declaration, is considered to commit the offence of forgery.”

Upon conviction, he or she is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than five (5) years but not more than seven (7) years and a fine of not less than Rwf3 million but not more than Rwf5 million, or only one of these penalties