Kigali arrests contractors over breach of internet cables

April 26, 2017 in Business, Infrastructure, Technology & Telecoms by Editor

KIGALI, APRIL 26 – Rwandan police yesterday arrested three engineers working for a civil contractor after internet cables connecting a key section of the city were breached, cutting off the central business district.

The trio, were working for Enterprise General Construction Company which has been hired to build an extension to the Ministry of Finance. Police said the engineers were being questioned for not following guidelines for managing construction sites.

According to construction guidelines issued by the City of Kigali in December 2014, civil contractors are supposed to secure alternative passage for underground infrastructure such as water pipes, power and communication cables before embarking construction. Offenders risk jail time or fines equivalent to ten times the value of damage caused.

Yesterdays’ incident, which happened at 2pm, left the several government offices and banks offline for several hours, prompting an emergency meeting of senior government officials.

Kigali is currently a busy construction site as developers raze down old buildings to erect new ones conforming to the city’s master plan and ongoing road expansion works by city authorities.