A former Rwandan prison director accused of stealing money from a British inmate was on Friday sentenced to five years in prison after he was found guilty of the crime. According to BBC, Innocent Kayumba was once the director of Kigali’s main prison.
The accused was sentenced together with his former deputy, Eric Ntakirutimana. An IT specialist inmate who told the court that Kayumba forced him to use his expertise to illegally access the victim’s Visa card was, however, acquitted. Court documents also revealed Kayumba has filed an appeal to challenge the ruling.
The IT specialist testified he was made to “decode” the victim’s Visa card after prison authorities got to know that the bank account that was linked to the card contained a huge amount of money. The card was in the possession of the prison officials at the time.
The victim, who is British Egyptian, told the court that over £7,000 ($9,300) was withdrawn from his bank account through the card last year. He said that was done without his permission.
The court determined Kayumba and Ntakirutimana conspired to steal the money while the IT specialist inmate was forced to hack the victim’s card, BBC reported.
Kayumba is also a senior military officer, and he joined Rwanda’s prison services in 2014 following a transfer. He was the head of a prison in western Rwanda before he took up the post at Kigali’s main prison. He was apprehended at the beginning of the year.
