English
Kinyarwanda
The Rwanda National Police’s zero stance to corruption continued this week, when 17 drivers were arrested for attempting to offer cash bribes to traffic officers.
The separate arrests in the past one week on various roads in the City of Kigali coincided with the week dedicated to fighting corruption that began on November 29th , aimed at strengthening efforts to weed out the malpractice and also sensitize the general public about its consequences.
The suspects were mostly special-hire drivers and a few car owners, who unsuccessfully endeavored to cash their way out of traffic offences when they had been stopped by officers for breaching road rules.
Some of the suspects who spoke to the press on December 4, expressed uttermost regret for their actions, saying that much as they can’t turn back the hands of time, they pray for leniency after acting “foolishly in the heat of the moment.”
“I have tried to bribe traffic officers twice and although I was let go the first time, this time they apprehended me. I had overloaded my car with two extra people and when I was stopped by an officer, I offered him a note of Rwf2, 000. He immediately arrested me and am now on charges of bribe,” Innocent Ntacobinwaye, 30, a cab driver, said.
“I know what I did is wrong and I totally regret it. I hope I get tolerance because that is the last time I will ever try to bribe anyone.”
Another traffic offender, Emmanuel Sindayiga, argued that he did not know that he was doing something illegal by offering a bribe, until he was arrested by the officer he intended to bribe.
“In truth, this was the first time I offered a bribe – and I did it very casually not knowing that it would have such an impact on my life,” Sindayiga claimed.
“Had I known, I would never have dared to offer a bribe. I beseech my fellow drivers to adhere to traffic rules because they are for our good. Besides, when an offense is committed, we are charged fines but not arrested. It is therefore better to pay a fine for committing a road offense than to be arrested for bribery.”
The fate of the 17 suspects will be determined by courts of law, according to Police Spokesman, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Celestin Twahirwa, who warned that a "bribe is still a bribe regardless of the amount of cash being offered."
“Offering bribes to police officers is an ill-advised attempt because most of the time, it has more negative consequences on the culprit than the offense he may be trying to avoid,” Twahirwa said.
“Any police officer who is found guilty of accepting a bribe is immediately penalised accordingly including dismissal because corruption is zero-stance in Rwanda National Police. If you have noticed, no single officer operates alone on the roads. They are always in teams, so that none of them gets tempted into bribery.” he explained.
Article 641 of the Penal Code stipulates that any person who directly or indirectly offers a gift in order to get an illegal service or refrain from carrying out any usual duties shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of five to seven years and a fine and a fine of twice or up to ten times the value of what they had offered in bribes.
In the spirit of the Anti-Corruption Week, CSP Twahirwa called upon citizens to reflect on the corruption fight and its contribution toward self-reliance.
The campaign was officially launched last Saturday to engage citizens and public officials in debating corruption related issues with a goal for pushing towards a corruption-free society.
Rwanda remains one of the least corrupt countries in the world, a reputation that has earned the country great trust from both private businesses and development partners.
