BUJUMBURA March 17th (ABP) – The spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, Community Development and Public Security, Pierre Nkurikiye, held on Thursday March 16, 2023, a communication during which he showed the press a group of alleged criminals who were apprehended on March 14, 2023 in Kinama of Bujumbura City Council, after swindling a shopkeeper.
That gang of alleged criminals is made up of four people, namely Faustin Nibigira, Jean Claude Ndayisenga, Audace Nzeyimana and a police sergeant by the name of Paul Bizimana.
Posing as agents of the intelligence service, those alleged criminals forced the victim to pay a sum of 700,000 Burundi francs. The victim paid the amount because they threatened to accuse him of selling sugar at a high price compared to that set by the government, Mr. Nkurikiye reported.
After paying the sum, that shopkeeper managed to communicate to his boss who, in turn, informed the police. Thus, the investigation services got to work and were able to apprehend those alleged crooks. They were in a vehicle belonging to one of the latter, Faustin Nibigira, registered under the number IA 4119, which was also seized.
Mr. Nkurikiye regretted seeing a police sergeant involved in that act of scam, while he is supposed to protect the people and their property. Since this police sergeant did not respect the motto which says that “Everything we do, we do it for the interest of the citizen”, he has tarnished the image of the country and must be transferred to justice to answer for his actions. He must also be removed from the police corps, he stressed.
To that end, Mr. Nkurikiye asked the people of Burundi to be vigilant and to contact the local administration to ask for light once such cases of scam arise.