Alberta Mountie found not guilty of using police database to help Rwanda

Alberta Mountie Eli Ndatuje has been found not guilty of using a police database to assist Rwanda, according to the Red Deer courthouse. The 39-year-old was on trial for alleged illegal use of the police database, charged under the Criminal Code and Security of Information Act. Ndatuje, who fled war-torn Uganda and moved to Ottawa as a teenager, was arrested in February 2024 by the RCMP’s federal policing team. The alleged "foreign actor" involved in the case was identified as Rwanda.

Mounties at the time did not disclose the specific duties or type of information allegedly accessed, but stated the records were not top secret. During the trial, Ndatuje's lawyer, Robb Beeman, testified that his client had contacted the Rwandan High Commission twice for innocent purposes. The first contact was in April 2022 to clear up confusion over his wife's travel documents.

The second contact was when a friend at the Rwandan High Commission expressed concern over the disappearance of a housekeeper working at the Ottawa residence of the Rwandan ambassador. Beeman stated that Ndatuje, on his own initiative, checked the police database to ensure no one had reported the housekeeper missing. It was later found that the man was unharmed.