“Former Director General of NIRDA, Dr Mungarulire Joseph with five senior staff still working at NIRDA have been arrested in connection with embezzlement and mismanagement of funds meant for establishment of Community Processing Centers in Districts (CPCs),” Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) has announced in a tweet.
RIB said the investigations are underway before handing the dossiers to the Prosecution.
When President Kagame reshuffled the cabinet on August 30, 2017, he named Mrs Pichette Kampeta Sayinzoga a replacement of Dr. Joseph Mungarurire as the Director General of NIRDA.
Mungarurire had been at the helm of NIRDA since 2013 when the institution was founded to replace the formal Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (IRST).
Immediately after her appointment on the position of NIRDA Director General, Pichette Kampeta Sayinzoga requested for an audit for Financial Year 2015-16 and financial year 2016.
The audit was conducted and exposed irregularities in procurement, administration and financial management.
In January, Kampeta requested the then CID to investigate the findings of the audit to establish individual responsibilities and they did so.
The audit covered construction, purchase of equipment and management of CPCs as well as NIRDA management in general.
Affected centers include; Rwamagana Banana Wine CPCs, Nyabihu Potatoes Factory Nyanza Ceramics CPC, Rutsiro Honey CPC and Burera Dairy CPC.
IGIHE has not been able to establish the volume of the funds missing, but Rwf 1.6 billion for the Rwamagana Banana Wine CPC has not been accounted for. Kampeta Sayinzoga, in an interview with Taarifa , said that, “This arrest [of former NIRDA Director General and other five staff] is therefore in this context.”
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