KIGALI – Rwanda President Paul Kagame has in unprecedented circumstances fired 322 soldiers and police officers.
No official reasons were given for the move. But a statement from the office of the President said the men in uniform were dismissed without notice.
Of those sacked, about 200 are non-commissioned officers and low-ranking Police officers from Rwanda National Police.
The Defence Minister Major General Albert Murasira dismissed 1 non-commissioned officer and 18 enlisted personnel from the RDF. Such dismissals have previously been a result of corruption and misconduct, local media reports.
The Rwanda government also pardoned hundreds of inmates.
According to Justice Minister, Johnston Busingye, eligibility includes serving a quarter of one’s sentence, reform and good conduct, undertaking not to re-offend.
“We welcome them back and urge family and friends to help so they reform for good,” the Minister twitted.
The release of these convicts comes after a recent pardoning of 2,140 other convicts in September 2018, including embattled politician Victoire Ingabire and musician Kizito Mihigo.
In 2017, the Rwanda government dismissed 200 police officers implicated in corruption as the East African country strives to maintain its reputation as largely free of petty graft.
Rwanda is sub-Saharan Africa’s third least corrupt country in Transparency International’s latest survey.
The ranking shows the Rwandan government’s will to fight corruption, said Marie-Immaculée Ingabire, the head of Transparency International in Rwanda.
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