Eastern Province Governor CG (Rtd) Emmanuel Gasana was arrested Wednesday.
Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) says it is holding CG (Rtd) Emmanuel Gasana on allegations of abuse of office and acquiring illegal benefits, hours after he was suspended from his duties as Governor of Eastern Province.
According to Dr, Thierry B. Murangira RIB Spokesperson, Gasana’s arrest which came hours after his suspension as Governor of the Eastern Province, is linked to abuse of office.
“He is under investigation over abuse of functions for obtaining illegal benefits when he was Governor of Eastern Province. Investigations are ongoing and more details will be provided as investigation evolves,” Dr. Murangira said, adding that allegations he faces contravene Article 15 of Law on fighting against corruption, relating to abuse of office.
“Any public servant or any other person holding a public office who abuses his/ her position or powers he/she holds by virtue of that position and performs or omits to perform an act, in violation of laws, for the purpose of obtaining an illegal benefit for himself/herself or for another person, commits an offence,” the law reads in part.
It adds that upon conviction, the person is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years but not more than ten years and a fine of not less than Rwf 5,000,000) but not more than Rwf10,000,000.
In a situation where the offence is committed with the aim of getting a profit valuable in money, the penalty becomes imprisonment for a term of not less than seven years and not more than ten years and a fine of three to five times the value of the illegal benefit solicited.
Gasana was suspended from office through a statement by the Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente, due to matters under investigation. Gasana, who has been the Governor of Eastern Province since March 2021 served as the governor of the Southern Province from October 2018.
He was suspended from the Governorship owing to “matters of accountability under investigation” in May 2020, before being redeployed to the Eastern Province in March 2021.
Before that he served as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), with a rank of Commissioner General (CG) in Rwanda National Police (RNP) between 2009 to 2018. Prior to being deployed to Police he served in different capacities Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) at a rank of Brigadier General in the RDF and served as acting Chief of Logistics for the army.
