{Police in Nyamasheke district have arrested a 34-year old man identified as Jean Bosco Nkunzingoma after he was found in possession of a forged driver’s license.}
Nkunzingoma was arrested on January 16 following a tip off from the Motorcyclists who had seen him with a forged license.
According to the police, Nkunzingoma approached a group of commercial motorcyclists seeking for employment as a taxi-moto operator; they asked him if he had a driver’s license, which he showed to them.
However, motorists realized that his license was a forgery and immediately alerted the police that arrested him.
Upon his arrest, Nkunzingoma told the police that he bought the fake license at Rwf 140,000 in mid 2014 and pledged to collaborate with them in further investigations.
Nyamasheke District Police Commander, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Paul Byuma, said that “means to acquire a driver’s license have been eased; there should never be reasons for any person to use a forged one.”
The arrest of Nkunzingoma came a few weeks after police in the same district also arrested Ernest Sezerano early this month as he was driving with a fake license.
SSP Byuma pointed out that forged licenses can be easily detected and went on to warn anyone that could be holding such fake ones or involved in forging them.
“Issuing or holding a forged license is criminal and punishable by the law. Since the process to acquire a driving license has been made easier and brought closer to communities there is no reason of being involved in any malpractices.”
in March last year police conducted a crack down operation on forged licenses and arrested about 80 people in connection with using and producing forged driver’s license which successfully had stopped their circulation.
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.
Leave a Reply