By Emma-Marie Umurerwa
Each year, Rwanda’s Auditor General releases a report detailing cases of mismanagement of public funds in government institutions. It is up to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which oversees the use of public finances, to hold government officials accountable for such abuses.
While Rwanda has made inroads into exposing and punishing financial corruption by government officials, the problem persists, statistics show.
In fiscal 2023, unlawful expenditure by government officials declined to Rwf 2.57 billion, substantially down from Rwf 6.4 billion in the previous year, according to the Auditor General.
A striking example of financial waste is the government’s rental of office space at a cost of over Rwf 12 billion annually, even though the state owns more than 1,000 buildings, many of them unused, according to the parliamentary committee.
One of the biggest spenders is Rwanda’s Supreme Court, which pays Rwf 117 million monthly and over Rwf 1.4 billion annually for office space, the committee revealed in 2023. The committee has not recommended how to bring more scrutiny over such spending.
Economic expert, Antonie Hategekimana, called such waste a “shocking contradiction” in resource management. “It’s unacceptable to let public buildings rot while taxpayers fund expensive rentals,” he said in an interview. “This is a misuse of national resources that could otherwise improve healthcare, education, and infrastructure,” he added.
One of Rwanda’s most high-profile cases of corruption by a public figure involves the Rwanda Biomedical Center (RBC), a key institution in the health sector.
Former RBC deputy director general, Noella Bigirimana, was charged in March this year for allegedly awarding a Rwf 127 million (US $89,000) contract to a company owned by her mother for hospital renovations, according to court documents. Bigirimana and her mother, Venantie Mukarivuze, have pleaded not guilty.
The contract, according to state prosecutors, was awarded without following proper procedures and was reportedly paid in full before the work was completed.
RBC’s former chief financial officer, Theo Principe Uwayo, was charged with abuse of office and illegal procurement practices related to the case, court documents claim. He has also denied the charges.
Over the past five years, the state’s prosecution office has dealt with 4,698 cases related to the mismanagement of public funds by senior public officials, according to Nkusi Faustin, spokesman for the National Public Prosecution Authority (NPPA), speaking on Rwanda Television.
In the interview in 2024, Faustin said the cases mostly involved high-ranking government officials, including directors and senior managers.
He said the NPPA had a unit dedicated to investigating economic crimes. The unit comprises 12 prosecutors focused on national issues and an additional prosecutor in each province.
In the 2023-2024 fiscal year, a total of 18,581 government officials were required to declare their assets to the Office of the Chief Ombudsman. Of these, 12 officials failed to submit a list of their assets and were sanctioned, including a one-month suspension without pay, and were required to declare their assets before returning to office.
Additionally, some 5,724 individuals from various government institutions were audited to verify their assets were acquired legally. Two cases were handed to the Rwanda Investigation Bureau, according to the ombudsman’s office.
Senior government officials have raised concerns about so-called illicit financial flows (IFFs), the illegal movement of cash or assets across borders with the aim of hiding it.
Mwiseneza Jeanne d’Arc, Division manager of Asset Declaration at the Ombudsman’s Office, emphasized that under Article 9 of Law No. 54/2018, individuals who cannot explain their wealth may have committed a crime.
“Several government officials have been prosecuted for failing to explain their assets,” Mwiseneza said. As examples, he named Niyibizi John, former director of administration and finance (DAF) at MINEDUC, and Nsabihoraho Jean Damascene, the former DAF of Nyanza District.
Apollinaire Mupiganyi, executive director for Transparency International Rwanda, said hiding money or assets from authorities was a common way to avoid taxes. “Using family members to disguise ownership of cars, land, and accounts is a serious threat to transparency,” he said.
He added: “It is common to find expensive properties registered under the names of elderly women who have no formal employment.”
Civil society leaders said the government should do more to recoup stolen state funds.
“There is a gap between detection and enforcement,” said Evariste Murwanashyaka, head of Programs and National Child Rights Observer at CLADHO, an umbrella of human rights organizations. “Too often, we hear of cases being investigated, but we don’t see the money returned or justice being served,” he said.
Thierry Murangira, spokesman for the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), said he did not know of anyone hiding assets abroad. “There are those who embezzle funds,” he said, “however, as for hiding them abroad, I do not know anyone.”The Office of the Prosecutor General said Rwanda was collaborating with 13 countries to investigate and recover funds believed to have been hidden abroad.
Jean Marie Vianney Nyirurugo
“We have submitted our requests for assistance to these 13 countries regarding individuals suspected of hiding embezzled funds outside Rwanda,” said Nyirurugo, the former head of the economic and financial unit at the National Public Prosecution Authority and now a lawyer at Gratus Law Consultants, told Radio Flash FM.
The government is investing in strengthening prosecutors’ capacity to handle economic crimes, said Nyirurugo. Over the past five years, more than 1,900 cases involving over 2,000 individuals and Rwf 55 billion in assets have been submitted to the courts, he said.
His comments could not be independently verified and the spokesman at the National Public Prosecution Authority did not respond to questions requesting information.
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