270,000 Citizens Denied Irembo Services After Payment

A recent audit by Office of the Auditor General of State Finances has revealed that more than 270,000 citizens were denied government services through IremboGov despite having already completed payment for those services.

According to the Auditor General’s report, employees responsible for processing requests on the digital government platform rejected thousands of applications without informing applicants why their requests had been denied.

The findings are detailed on page 39 of the 140-page audit report, which examined operations carried out on the Irembo system between March 2023 and September 2025.

“We found that there were 270,571 people who applied for services but did not receive them,” the report states.

The rejected services reportedly included local government services, academic equivalency applications, notary services, and land transfer services involving gifted property.

Citizens Forced to Pay Again
The audit further noted that some Irembo staff rejected applications without first requesting missing information or clarification from applicants.

As a result, many citizens were forced to restart their applications and pay additional fees to complete the process again.

The Auditor General criticized the lack of communication with applicants, saying affected citizens were not informed about the reasons behind the rejection of services they had already paid for.

Speaking before members of both chambers of Parliament, Alexis Kamuhire said the audit institution had advised Irembo to improve its digital systems so that incomplete applications could be identified early before payments are processed or services rejected.

“We recommended that Irembo improve its system so missing requirements can be detected early before rejecting services for citizens who have already paid,” Kamuhire said.

The Rise of Irembo in Rwanda
IremboGov was launched in 2015 through a partnership between the Government of Rwanda and RwandaOnline as part of a broader effort to digitize public services.

The platform officially began operations in July 2015 with the goal of allowing citizens to access government services online without visiting public offices.

In its early phase between 2015 and 2017, Irembo offered a limited number of basic services, including:
Birth certificates
Single status certificates
Residence certificates
Immigration and emigration services

As public adoption increased, the platform expanded rapidly.

Between 2017 and 2020, Irembo introduced more than 80 additional public services, including:
Driving test registration
Passport applications
Land services
Community-based health insurance (Mutuelle) services
Criminal record certificates.

The platform later introduced electronic certificates, commonly known as “e-certificates,” allowing citizens to obtain legally recognized documents digitally without collecting physical copies from government offices.

Expansion of Digital Services
Since 2020, Irembo has continued to expand its digital infrastructure and improve accessibility for citizens using both smartphones and basic mobile phones.

The modernization phase initially introduced 22 upgraded services before expanding further.

Today, the platform provides more than 100 government services and serves millions of users annually across Rwanda.

However, the latest audit findings are expected to raise concerns about accountability, transparency, and service delivery standards within one of Rwanda’s flagship digital governance platforms.