Audio By Carbonatix
A high court in Rwanda has sentenced a former youth and culture minister to five years in prison over corruption charges, extending a previous sentence by a year.
The original sentence, which came last year, against Edouard Bamporiki was a rare case of a top official convicted over corruption in the country.
He was suspended from cabinet last May and put under house arrest while being investigated for corruption and misuse of power. He remained under house arrest until this ruling.
Bamporiki confessed to the charges on Twitter and asked President Paul Kagame for forgiveness, but in September a court sentenced him to four years - which he appealed.
On Monday, a high court judge in the capital, Kigali, said “justice needs to be served to set an example”.
The 39-year-old poet and filmmaker was previously a vigorous supporter of President Kagame and the ruling party and rose rapidly through the ranks.
His lawyer, Evode Kayitana, told the BBC that they had not decided on whether to appeal.
Latest Stories
-
Roads Minister clarifies ‘Big Push’, says 54 new projects, 23 inherited contracts
3 hours -
Big Push: Kwame Agbodza reveals major road projects hit 50% completion
3 hours -
Ghana hosts ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa qualifiers at Achimota Oval
3 hours -
Ghana open T20 World Cup qualifiers with emphatic win over Seychelles
3 hours -
SIGA’s dilemma: How public companies became public liabilities
4 hours -
US is ‘normalising’ the erasure of black history, says Mahama in New York
4 hours -
Journalists at Australia’s national broadcaster begin 24-hour strike over pay
4 hours -
Kenya Airways posts $138m pre-tax loss in 2025
4 hours -
Social media bans and digital curfews to be trialled on UK teenagers
4 hours -
Premier League great Salah will leave lifetime of memories
4 hours -
Libya’s El Feel oilfield in shutdown since Thursday, engineers say
5 hours -
Minority caucus oppose gov’t plans to downgrade Suame Interchange; cites secured funding
6 hours -
Oil traders bet millions minutes before Trump’s Iran talks post
6 hours -
Fortnite-maker Epic Games lays off 1,000 more staff
6 hours -
Philippines declares energy emergency over Iran conflict
6 hours