Africa-Press – Rwanda. Nyarugenge Primary Court has ordered a 30-day remand for Gisele Umuhuza, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Infrastructure (MININFRA), and her co-accused Dominique Murekezi, over corruption-related charges.
Umuhumuza, who previously served as Acting CEO and later Managing Director of the Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC), is being prosecuted alongside Murekezi, the Acting Managing Director of WASAC Development.
The ruling comes, following the recent detention of Omar Munyaneza, the former WASAC CEO who is also on a 30-day remand over similar allegations.
Delivering the ruling on September, the presiding judge said that the court found reasonable grounds to suspect Umuhumuza and Murekezi to have committed the alleged crimes, warranting their remand pending trial.
Allegations against the accused
According to prosecution, the duo is accused abusing powers granted by law for personal gain, making decisions based on nepotism, favouritism, or friendship. Umuhumuza is also charged with misusing public funds.
The prosecution reported a pattern of illegal recruitment, job promotions, and dismissals that violated WASAC’s 2018 Human Resources Policy.
Prosecutors cited improper recruitment in 28 positions involving 45 candidates, as well as unfair hiring of graduates where the accused are said to have recruited 22 graduates from INES Ruhengeri and University of Rwanda without subjecting them to mandatory exams.
About unauthorised promotions and transfers, the prosecution indicated that at least 15 employees were removed from roles aligned with their qualifications and reassigned to positions they were unfit for.
They also accuse the defendants of irregular salary allocation, where for instance Umuhumuza is said to have approved some inflated salary packages.
On the exam irregularities, prosecution claims Umuhumuza allowed an unqualified candidate to sit for an exam and later facilitated his hiring, despite the person lacking required qualifications such as professional certifications.
During a previous hearing, prosecutors requested that the duo be remanded. However, the defendants requested for bail pending the trial.
Both defendants pleaded not guilty and requested bail, which the court rejected.
What the defendants say
Umuhumuza argued that she was merely invited to a meeting by the CEO, where decisions on exam preparation were communicated, but she was not involved in their execution. On claims that she authorised irregular payments, she said that although she was Acting Chief Budget Officer, she had no role in drafting the contract in question.
Murekezi similarly denied wrongdoing, insisting that his role was limited to oral exams. He claimed he had no involvement in tampering with written exams and said that, like Umuhumuza, he was informed by the CEO about the decision to involve non-WASAC staff in the examination preparation process, something he argued was permitted.
Under the law, the duo has five days to appeal the court’s decision.
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