Rwanda: 8 medical practitioners charged over misusing Covid-19 vaccines

By Agence de Presse Africaine Last updated Jan 17, 2022

APA- Kigali Eight medical practitioners in Rwanda were arrested over embezzling Covid-19 kits and misuse of vaccines, a judicial source revealed Sunday. The suspects are from different health centers in Rutsiro, a district and Nyanza, according to the spokesperson of Rwanda Investigation Bureau, DR Thierry Murangira. Misuse of property of the public…

APA – Kigali (Rwanda) Eight medical practitioners in Rwanda were arrested over embezzling Covid-19 kits and misuse of vaccines, a judicial source revealed Sunday.

The suspects are from different health centers in Rutsiro, a district(West) and Nyanza (South), according to the spokesperson of Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), DR Thierry Murangira.

It said the suspects were unable to explain how they used 30 AstraZeneca vaccine bottles which were supposed to vaccinate 300 people.

Murangira said that some of the suspects, who had been deployed to administer the above vaccine, were not able to follow the vaccination standard operation procedures, especially measuring how many people each bottle was meant for, thus damaging some of the vaccines.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects would go to various vaccination sites and vaccinate people without first checking if the number of people supposed to be vaccinated per bottle, as per instructions,” he explained.

Among the suspects, it includes an official in charge of pharmaceuticals in Biruyi health centre in Rutsiro district (West).

Misuse of property of the public interest upon conviction in Rwanda, suspects are sentenced to between five to seven years imprisonment and a fine not less than Rwf 3,000,000 ($ 3,000 USD) but not more than Rwf 5, 000,000 ($ 5,000 USD).

CU/abj.APA