Rwanda: Fresh Details Emerge on Rwandan Woman Arrested Over Murder-for-Hire Plot in Nairobi

Fresh details have emerged on the Rwandan woman who was arrested in Nairobi, on Sunday, December 31, 2023, for planning to murder a Swiss national.

Antoinette Uwineza, alias Micheline Uwababyeyi, was apprehended on New Year's Eve by Kenyan police officers posing as hitmen.

On Tuesday, January 2, she was arraigned in court, where more information about her was brought to light, including the fact that she is an ex-convict on murder charges.

According to the details, in November 2018, she was sentenced to life in jail after being found guilty of killing her love rival and her seven months' old baby over a European boyfriend.

She was later freed after lodging a successful appeal against the verdict.

According to Kenyan detectives, police got a tip about the chilling plot through an informer. They then launched a daring operation to meet the woman, masquerading as hit men. The 50-year-old Swiss target arrived in Nairobi on Boxing Day and checked into a hotel in Westlands, a posh neighbourhood in Nairobi. He was to leave the hotel and join the woman at an apartment in the same area.

"The team met the lady on December 30 and were informed by the said lady that the foreigner has in his possession 850,000 euros (approximately Rwf 1,185,861,477). She informed them that before the foreigner is killed, he must transfer all the money to her account," states part of the police report.

Following discussions, the officers agreed with the woman regarding the plot. The terms of the plot included an equitable distribution of the funds acquired after the planned homicide.

The process entailed fabricating an identity card featuring the female undercover officer's image for use in securing an apartment in Westlands. The location would serve as the venue where the suspect would lure the target for dinner before executing the attack.

The card was created under the alias Sarah Nafula Masika.

On Sunday morning, the female undercover officer, accompanied by the suspect and her 25-year-old brother, proceeded to Westlands to secure the apartment.

"Upon inspecting the suspect and her brother, two Somali knives and acid were confiscated," the police report noted.

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