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Rwanda: Bishop Detained in Embezzlement Probe

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Rwanda: Bishop Detained in Embezzlement Probe
Bishop Samuel Mugisha Mugiraneza

Bishop Samuel Mugiraneza, who until last year headed Shyira Diocese in Ruhengeri, in the northern district of Musanze, is accused of dipping his hands in the supply of eggs to diocesan schools and involving his private company in the construction works of the church

KIGALI | Police in Rwanda have detained an Anglican bishop as part of wider investigation into embezzlement and abuse of office.

The Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) on Tuesday, January 21, confirmed the arrest of an Bishop Samuel Mugisha Mugiraneza, who recently resigned as the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Shyira.

“Bishop Mugiraneza is under investigation for alleged crimes of embezzlement and misuse of funds for personal gain during his tenure,” RIB said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

The bureau did not divulge the details of the case but said the Man of the Cloak was being detained at Remera RIB station in the capital Kigali.

However, local media has reported that Mugirineza was had used the diocesan farm to graze his personal cows and allowed his wife to make merry with the eggs from the poultry farm at her own will.

According to Rwanda's Igihe media, Mugiraneza had fallen out with some priests at the Ruhengeri-based diocese and that after he took administrated sanctions and ordered their transfer, they got back at him.

"It's a dispute between two priests who ran to the media in a way that was not professional but we are required by the church to resolve them properly" Mugiraneza told the media recently when responding to queries on governance and mismanagement and misuse of property allegations at the diocese.

Bishop Mugiraneza's problems emerged from under the pulpit in early 2024, when some priests in the Diocese of Shyira were reassigned in a shake up.

However, the decision only fomented more yeast in the diocese. By July, things had gotten ugly leading to their dismissal in August 14, 2024.

But the priests protested, citing unfair treatment in writing to the Anglican Church of Rwanda's superior body of the congregation, and indicated that their differences were due to mismanagement, embezzlement and mismanagement by the Bishop Mugiraneza.

In response, the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) intervened, urging the church to investigate the allegations.

This led to Mugiraneza’s temporary suspension by Archbishop Laurent Mbanda and his replacement by Rev Augustin Ahimana.

Mugiraneza has denied wrongdoing, attributing the accusations to internal conflicts within the diocese.

“These priests sought to tarnish my reputation after facing disciplinary action,” he said in a recent interview.

Allegations

The allegations brought against Mugiraneza include abuse of office where he is accused of misusing resources in the construction of a diocese building in Musanze City.

It is said the sand was supplied by the bishop's company, while eggs for all the schools run by the diocese were being supplied by the bishop's wife.

This is in addition to using the diocese's farmland in Nyamutera in Nyabihu and Kimonyi for his personal ventures.

The RIB investigation continues, with authorities pledging a thorough review of the case.

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