{Police in Nyamasheke District have arrested a 22-year old man who was driving using a forged driver’s license.}
As part of the routine checks, officers on duty stopped Ernest Sezerano on January 4 in Ruharambuga Sector and asked him for a driving license only to discover that it was a forgery, and was immediately arrested.
Following his arrest, Sezerano confessed to police that he bought the forged permit last year at Rwf250, 000, from a man he claimed he doesn’t remember.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Jean Marie Ndushabandi, the spokesperson of the Traffic and Road Safety department warned that some individuals take advantage of the ignorance of others to con them of their money by selling them forged documents.
He said forged licenses are easy to detect and warned anyone that could be holding a fake one or involved in forging them.
“If you acquired a driving license in any dubious means then we advise you to voluntarily bring it to the Traffic and Road Safety department otherwise if you are found in possession of the forged driving license you loose it, be arrested and charged accordingly,” Supt. Ndushabandi said.
“People shouldn’t be lied that someone else can do tests or acquire a driver’s licence on their behalf. Whoever tells you that just know that you are being duped and you should immediately inform police to ensure that such people are arrested,” he added.
“The process to acquire a driving license has been made easier and brought closer to communities. Those seeking a driving license or any other road traffic related document should therefore use this to their legal advantage instead of reverting to forgeries,” he advised.
By March last year, police had arrested about 80 people in connection with using or producing forged driver’s licence.
The suspects were arrested from various parts of the country in an operation conducted following a tip-off from the “victims.”
By then, a man identified as Ferdinand Sebahinzi had voluntarily surrendered a fake driver’s license to the police and also facilitated the arrest of the forgers.
“Some people want easy means of getting driver’s license that is why they are duped by such unscrupulous individuals who claim to have connections with the Police. The two parties secretly agree on terms and costs,” SP Ndushabandi said.
He said, however, that some people unknowingly fall victims to con men and they report back to Police.
“That’s sometimes how we learn of such cases…Using fake driver’s license poses danger because most of the culprits have not passed road tests, and that’s why we have step up measures to look for anyone holding forged permit, and those who forge them.”
“We want the public to be informed that whoever involve themselves in forgery of such documents would be caught up with the law,” SP Ndushabandi.
Article 609 of the Penal Code indicates that 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 ranging from five to seven years and a fine of Rwf300,000 to Rwf3 million.
Any person who knowingly uses a counterfeit document shall be liable to the same penalty as the person counterfeiting a document, according to the Penal code.
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