BUJUMBURA October 19th (ABP) – The spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, Community Development and Public Security, Pierre Nkurikiye hosted a press briefing on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at the National Intelligence Service to inform the public on the fraud crimes observed on social networks.
That press briefing is held after apprehending five people who commit theft crimes via social networks. Mr. Nkurikiye indicated that a certain Fabrice Bimenyimana, detained at the central prison of Ngozi for rape, published on Facebook as urgent information from Burundi under the pseudonym of “J Claude Niyonkuru, which the President of the Republic informs to the public that registrations have already started for those wishing to work in Arab countries, the registration fees are set at 50,000 BIF, that he has agreed to pay 50% of the expenses and that passports are being delivered to those who do not have one. For any information, contact the WhatsApp number +257 69 992 668”.
Mr. Nkurikiye also reported that after carrying out a thorough investigation, it was revealed that the number he gave belonged to another inmate in the same prison, but the offenses are different.
In all monetary transaction operations, Mr. Bimenyimana was using that number at the time when his owner’s phone was stolen, according to that investigation. Alongside the registration fees, he also collected additional fees that he called (agafanta), which differ from one person to another. Mr. Bimenyimana himself accepted that he has already collected more than 200,000.
Mr. Nkurikiye also spoke about Kenny Claude Nduwimana and Médard Muhiza. Both are accused of damaging imputation and theft via social networks. They worked in a network with other criminals under anonymous accounts, notably the account of a certain “yigenga” and “king umurundi”. For example, he said, when they saw a person in possession of money, they used a fake account to talk about things about them that are not accurate, promising readers that they will provide information about that person. Afterwards, they contacted the person to ask for a certain amount so that they did not continue talking about other things. There are therefore those who have already given that required amount, to avoid publications about them, he added.
The spokesperson pointed out that spreading false information on social networks is a crime that could make the country insecure.
Mr. Nkurikiye further indicated two other people named Gabin Ndayubaha and Innocent Nzisabira, who have just been apprehended, in the process of collecting an amount of four million of our francs per individual. They took advantage of a tender press release from the Kamenge military hospital, where they invited people via social networks and telephone calls, that to be hired, you must pay that sum which will be sent to the General Silas Ntigurirwa, the chairman of the board of directors of that hospital.
Therefore, Mr. Nkurikiye calls on the population to scrupulously observe communications that take place on social networks. He therefore invited anyone who is aware of calls of that type to contact the administrative, police or judicial authorities, in order to be reassured that the message is true or not.
He also took the opportunity to inform the public that the investigation services of the ministry in charge of public security have modern means and techniques to carry out investigations in a professional and modern manner, while inviting them to report to his services if necessary.