As government officials remained tight-lipped on the causes of recent fires in state prisons, one of which claimed the lives of three inmates, some insiders would not rule out sabotage.

Some sources even pointed a finger at the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)-based militants are widely implicated in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, as well as several bomb and grenade attacks on unarmed civilians in Rwanda from across the border.

“It cannot be a coincidence that two correctional facilities can be gutted by fire in one month,” an official at Rwanda Correctional Services, who preferred anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Rwanda Today. “This has to do with work of an insider or an enemy within.”

The source further revealed that the prison service and intelligence agencies would ensure the cause of the fire was established.

Unconfirmed reports were reportedly making rounds in Rubavu town alleged that the FDLR were behind the fire. These reports had, however, not been corroborated by officials by press time.

Three inmates were confirmed dead in an inferno that recently swept through Rubavu Rwanda Correctional Services (RCS) facility, just weeks after another prison in Muhanga district was gutted by fire.

READ: Fires continue to cause fear and disquiet among Rwandans

At 8pm on Monday, fightfighters were still battling the fire which gutted a large section of one of the newest prison in Rwanda located in Rubavu, Western Province. Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) and Rwanda National Police battled the fire late into the night.

In an interview with the state broadcaster Radio Rwanda, Mayor of Rubavu Sheikh Hassan Bahame said the three died in the blaze while 40 others sustained injuries during a stampede that ensued.

According to sources at the scene, the fire broke out at around 4:30pm in one section of the facility. Eric Ntakirutimana, the acting director of the prison, told a local news outlet that he could not immediately confirm the cause of the fire.

“For now, our concern is the lives of the inmates as well as their property and that of the prison,” said Mr Ntakirutimana. “We cannot tell for now what the cause the fire was but we will launch investigations immediately.”

Residents of the district looked on as the correctional facility, which is located on a hill overlooking Lake Kivu, was consumed by the inferno. The picturesque prison, considered one of the new, model correctional facilities in the country, holds more than 3,000 inmates.

Just a month ago, a big section of Muhanga Correctional Facility, which is located in the southern district of Muhanga, was gutted by fire which, according to sources, was a result of “poor electrical installation.”

Investigations concluded that during fumigation some liquid chemicals got into contact with bare, live electrical wires, causing a short-circuit that sparked off the blaze.

The management of the facility, which also houses more than 3,000 prisoners, struggled to keep the excess inmates after a large section of it was destroyed. Prisoners were distributed in Mpanga and Huye prisons, which were already battling congestion.

The western and northern towns of Rubavu and Musanze have in recent days been gripped by tension originating from the alleged infiltration by FDLR elements. Some of the recent documented disappearances and arrests happened there.

READ: Rwanda govt trashes HRW ‘disappearances’ report

Bars and nightclubs razed

The prison infernos rekindle memories of 2011, when dozens of schools across the country were gutted by mysterious fires and, later in 2012, when several bars and nightclubs in Kigali were razed in a series of fires.

At least 92 fires were recorded In 2012 and 84 in 2011, which has compelled the government to establish a special team to investigate the outbreaks. The fires also have exposed Rwanda’s lack of capacity to handle catastrophic fires, what with an ill-equipped firefighting department.

When last month Minister for Internal Security Sheikh Musa Fazil Harelimana was grilled by parliamentarians regarding the country’s ability to respond to fire disasters, he said more resources were being allocated to this end.

Eyewitnesses say that, in most cases, police arrived at the scene hours after the fire broke out and struggled to contain the blaze.