The prosecutor at the intermediate court of Nyarugenge in Kigali city on Wednesday asked the court to convict and sentence the former Rwandan minister of State in charge of Culture, Edouard Bamporiki to 20 years in prison on corruption charges.
The prosecutor asked the court to find Bamporiki guilty and sentence him over solliciting a bribe of 5 million Rwandan Francs ($5,000 USD) from a local business operator Bamporiki, whose trial started last week along his defense team reiterated his innocence.
He is accused of corruption crimes and has been under house arrest since May 5. Bamporiki was suspended from the cabinet on May 5 and placed under house arrest following allegations of his involvement in corruption.
On the punitive measures, the law states that upon conviction, he is liable to imprisonment for a term of more than five years but not more than seven years with a fine of three to five times the value of the illegal benefit solicited received.
Penalties mentioned, according to the law, “apply to a person who offers or promises to offer a benefit, by any means, an illegal benefit for him/ herself or another person to have a service rendered or omitted.”
Apart from his political career, Bamporiki is a filmmaker. “Long Coat” is one of his most famous films – through a story of a survivor of the 1994 genocide and one of a perpetrator’s son, the film focuses on leaving one’s past behind.
CU/abj/APA