CANADA:In Alberta, the trial of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Eli Ndatuje sheds light on a search conducted in a Canadian police database and contacts with the High Commission of Rwanda. The Crown argues that information resulting from this search may have been communicated to the Rwandan government. The defence, for its part, maintains that it was an effort to help locate a missing person.
The courthouse in Red Deer, Alberta, is currently at the centre of a case being closely followed in Canada and within the Rwandan diaspora. Since September 21, 2026, Eli Ndatuje, an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), has been appearing before the Alberta Court of King’s Bench to face several charges related to the use of a police computer system and the alleged communication of information to the Rwandan government.
Ndatuje, 39, has pleaded not guilty. The trial is being heard by a judge sitting alone, and the charges against him have not been established before the court.
Elie NDATUJE
A case dating back to April 2022
At the heart of the case is a search conducted in the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), Canada’s national system that allows authorized police services to access various types of police information.
According to the Crown, Ndatuje allegedly carried out this search while he was posted in Red Deer, and then communicated information obtained through the search to outside parties.
The documents of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) officially indicate that Ndatuje is being prosecuted for an offence under section 18(1) of the Security of Information Act, involving the unauthorized communication of information to the Government of Rwanda. Two additional charges are on the record: breach of trust and unauthorized use of a computer, under the Canadian Criminal Code.
The alleged events are said to have taken place in Red Deer on April 23, 2022.
The February 2024 arrest
However, the case was not made public until nearly two years later.
On February 10, 2024, the RCMP’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) arrested Ndatuje.
At the time, the RCMP stated that the officer had accessed systems containing records that were not classified at the “Top Secret” level, but that the alleged use of the information raised concerns involving a foreign actor. The authorities initially did not publicly identify that actor. Court documents subsequently identified the Republic of Rwanda.
What the Crown says
At the opening of the trial, prosecutor Kent Brown explained that the Crown’s case would rely largely on documentary evidence and that approximately 13 witnesses would be called to testify.
According to the prosecution, the case essentially focuses on two elements: the search conducted by Ndatuje in the police database and the alleged communication of information resulting from that search.
The Crown is also seeking to establish the context of communications between Ndatuje and an official of the Rwandan diplomatic mission in Canada.
Telephone records presented at trial do indeed show calls and exchanges of messages between Ndatuje and a Rwandan official around the relevant period. These records establish that communications took place, but do not, by themselves, reveal their content.
The defence refers to a missing person
The defence presents a very different interpretation of events.
Ndatuje’s lawyer, Robb Beeman, argued before the court that his client had not acted as an agent of a foreign government. According to him, Ndatuje was simply trying to help a friend working at the High Commission of Rwanda in Ottawa.
According to the defence, the case concerned a domestic worker employed at the residence of the Rwandan ambassador in Ottawa, whose disappearance had raised concerns.
According to this version, Ndatuje’s friend had contacted him to inform him of the situation. Ndatuje allegedly advised him to formally report the disappearance to the Ottawa police. He then allegedly conducted a search himself in the CPIC system to determine whether the person had already been reported missing.
The defence maintains that no matching missing-person record was found in the system and that the woman was eventually found safe and sound.
“I was never a spy”
A recording of Ndatuje’s interrogation by investigators was presented to the court.
During the interview, conducted after his arrest, Ndatuje explicitly rejected the idea that he had been a spy.
“I was never a spy.”
According to the hearing report, he explained that he had conducted the search because he wanted to know whether the person had been reported missing. He also stated that the person concerned had not directly asked him to carry out the search.
An investigator reportedly responded that the police did not necessarily consider him to be a spy, but that they were trying to determine whether he might have been influenced by a person working at the High Commission of Rwanda.
Communications with Rwanda
The exchanges with the Rwandan diplomatic mission therefore constitute another important element of the trial.
The defence maintains that Ndatuje had two separate contacts with the High Commission.
The first, in April 2022, allegedly concerned questions relating to his wife’s travel documents before a family trip to Rwanda.
The second allegedly related to concerns about the disappearance of the domestic worker.
For the Crown, these communications must be considered in the context of the search conducted in the police system.
Why did investigators suspect foreign interference?
The case also raises questions about how the missing-person matter came to Ndatuje’s attention.
Constable Nathan Ashley, the lead investigator with the INSET team, explained that investigators had notably questioned why the Rwandan authorities had not directly reported the disappearance to Ottawa police.
According to his testimony, investigators twice asked officials at the Rwandan High Commission to provide statements. The Rwandan government allegedly declined those requests.
This point is part of the evidence being examined by the court, but does not, by itself, establish the accused’s guilt.
Testimony from his former superior
The court also heard from Melissa Joan Russell, one of Ndatuje’s former superiors.
She described him as a hard-working and enthusiastic police officer and stated that she had not observed signs of deception in his professional conduct.
This testimony was presented by the defence in the broader context of the accused’s professional character.
The Crown closes its case
On September 25, the Crown completed the presentation of its evidence.
The evidence presented to the court includes documents relating to the searches conducted in CPIC, telephone records, testimony from investigators and former colleagues, as well as the recording of Ndatuje’s interrogation following his arrest.
The defence continues to maintain that the search conducted by the officer was part of a personal effort to help locate a person believed to be missing.
A case that goes beyond the simple use of a database
The trial is of particular interest because it lies at the intersection of several issues: the protection of police data, the professional obligations of police officers, Canadian national security, and relations between Canada and foreign diplomatic missions.
However, it is important not to confuse the broader context of foreign interference with the facts that must be established in Eli Ndatuje’s particular case.
The fundamental question before the court is what Ndatuje actually did, why he did it, and whether the essential elements of the offences with which he is charged have been established beyond a reasonable doubt.
Where does the trial stand?
Following the close of the Crown’s evidence, final submissions were scheduled to take place before the Court of King’s Bench in Red Deer. The latest publicly available information indicates that the case was expected to continue at the end of September and into early October.
Key points to remember
Eli Ndatuje is an RCMP officer being prosecuted in Alberta in a case involving the alleged use of the CPIC system and the alleged communication of information to the Rwandan government. The Crown argues that the search and communication of the information constituted unlawful use of the police system. The defence maintains that the search was solely intended to help locate a domestic worker who had been reported missing. The case is still before the courts, and the charges remain to be proven.
Sources
Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC); The Canadian Press; CityNews Edmonton/Calgary; reports from hearings before the Court of King’s Bench in Red Deer.
If he were found guilty of all three charges, the maximum penalties provided for under Canadian law would be as follows:
Charge
Statute
Maximum penalty
Breach of trust by a public officer
s. 122 of the Criminal Code
5 years if prosecuted by indictment
Unauthorized use of a computer
s. 342.1(1)
10 years if prosecuted by indictment; the offence may also be prosecuted by summary conviction
Unauthorized communication of protected information to a foreign entity
s. 18(1) of the Foreign Interference and Security of Information Act
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