APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – The former Secretary General of Rwanda Cycling Federation, Benoit Munyankindi held in custody since August for alleged favoritism while in office was released on bail, judicial authorities said Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the defendant filed an appeal before a court in Kigali seeking a provisional release.
While announcing the release, however, the intermediate court of Nyarugenge district in Kigali city banned him from leaving the country.
The sports official is suspected to have put his wife on a list of Rwandan delegation at the UCI World Championships of all cycling disciplines in Glasgow, Scotland in August this year.
The arrest was followed by the resignation of other senior officials from Rwanda’s cycling federation including the president of the Rwanda Cycling Federation, Abdallah Murenzi and his executive secretary Alphonse Nkuranga.
In his defense, Munyankindi denied the charges. He contended that his wife held a leadership position within one of the cycling clubs and was a member of the federation.
Munyankindi’s wife, as a member, had taken this action because she had three players in the team and covered her own expenses. Additionally, her badge indicated that she was part of those who accompanied the team rather than being an official representative of the cycling body.
CU/abj/APA