Rampant Corruption in the Rwandan Police

Information reaching Umuvugizi from the Eastern Province confirms that there’s rampnt corruption in the Rwandan police, particularly in the department of traffic. According to reliable sources, the traffic police officers connived with driving schools in the districts of Nyagatare, Gatsibo and Kayonza and fraudently and exorbitantly charged money from local people in the area promising to grant them driving license, especially a license with category A for motorcycle operators.

Among the people who fell in this trap of cheating are many local and poor citizens who sold their properties like pieces of land, harvests as well as borrowed money from their neighbors to pay these glutton traffic officers and driving school operators. The citizens who are victims of this fraudulent act are in tears because they have been waiting for their driving permits but in vain.

Our reporter talked to the victims in these areas, and confirmed that the Traffic police officers charged each one between 42,500 Frw and 47,000 Frw for taking driving classes, and these charges do not include another high fee of 50.000 Frw that each one paid for obtaining a driving license.
 
The unfortunate part of their ordeal is that they have waited for their driving license but in vain. Recently, some of the victims made attempts to reclaim their right to a driving license or a refund. All these people were beaten up, rounded up and locked up by the police.  
 
On June 16, 2012, another category of people paid 20.000 Frw to obtain a provisional driving license. Like the other people earlier mentioned, these too have fallen victims of the same fraud.  None of them has been either given the provision driving license or refunded the money. Our report spoke to one of the resident who fell in the trap of these fraudsters and he had this say: “In the district of Kayonza, in the sector of Ndego, we are living in terrible conditions. Even our children who complete their studies cannot find any job here because we come from areas formerly called Ruhengeri, Gisenyi and Byumba, hence these leaders do not look at us as being part and parcel of their leadership. Our leaders, among them police officers continue mistreat us simply because they do not value us as citizens”.
Gasasira , Sweden
info@umuvugizi.com