Rwanda National Police

In order to sustain Rwanda’s development, nationals have to be safe at all times. Citizens should kept safe from all tragedies, including road accident. However, road accidents still pose a challenge to public safety and to address this, Rwanda National Police (RNP) needs to come up with stringent and comprehensive preventive measures.

In an interview with the Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety (TRS) department at RNP Commissioner of Police George Rumanzi, details RNP plans to address challenges related to road accidents, and future ambitions of modernizing the traffic systems and ensuring road safety.

Qn: Give us an insight into the operations of the Traffic and Road Safety Department?

CP Rumanzi: The Traffic and Road Safety (TRS) department carries out its operations in several areas; among them include, educating the general public on road traffic laws, enforcement of road traffic rules and regulations, inspection of motor vehicles for their road worthiness and also direct road traffic to ensure smooth flow.

We are also charged with testing aspiring drivers and issuance of driver's licenses; we work closely with institutions responsible for engineering works to advise them on accident-prone areas so that sign-posts, zebra crossings, and humps are put in place. 

The Department conducts investigations in cases of road accidents and compile files that are forwarded to insurance companies for compensation of either life or property and to prosecution for criminal justice process, as well as providing escort services to groups traveling in big numbers.

Qn: How effective is this department in ensuring road users comply with traffic laws?

CP Rumanzi: We believe compliance to road traffic laws goes hand in hand with effective enforcement mechanism.  We also believe more can be achieved especially in preventing road accidents.

Qn: How do you deal with cases of corruption especially in situations where a traffic offender either bribes or attempts to bribe an officer?

CP Rumanzi: Rwanda in general and RNP in particular has a zero tolerance to corruption. Any officer engaged in corruption is investigated, prosecuted and if the officer is found guilty, they are dismissed from the force.

We appeal to the general public to not offer bribe for services that they are entitled to. In a situation where someone is stopped by a traffic officer, it’s wise to pay the fines in case of an offense rather than committing another crime of giving out a bribe.

By bribing an officer, you are committing a grave crime that you will be punished for, that’s why we urge the public that it’s wise and safer to pay the fines and always report any corruption case or an officer soliciting a bribe. The public can reach our department on +250788311110 or by email on commtrs@police.gov.rw , and they will get a prompt response.  

Qn: There are complaints that getting a driving license takes longer than it should. Take us through the process of acquiring a license, how long it takes, and why the complaints.

CP Rumanzi: Currently, after successfully passing all driving tests, paying the license fee and registering, the applicant should get his or her license in 14 days. However, once our new system that is being developed, we intend to reduce this timeframe to one day.

With regard to complaints of delays, the problem roots from people who opt to use intermediaries to acquire permits. Intermediaries are often I posters and crooks, who swindle money from those who avoid going through right channels to get the service they need.

The public should desist from using intermediaries. These are imposter who will take your money yet you could have used a proper channel and get your license.

Others take long to pay for their licenses which delay the issuance, but other driver's licence seekers make mistakes in their registration leading to mismatch in their identification, thus delaying the process.

In short, in case anyone has a problem with acquiring a license, they should call+250788311553 for an immediate response and follow ups.

Qn: There are people who have foreign driver's licence. Does RNP offer a service to change a foreign permit to obtain a Rwandan one?

CP Rumanzi: Absolutely yes! The point to note here is, changing a driving license is not automatic; it’s a case-by-case procedure. This is because there are some foreign licences that are either forged, invalid or were illegally obtained; we verify a foreign license before embarking on changing it.

Anyone who wishes to change their driving permits should come with a letter addressed to the Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety Department, along with other supporting documents, such as a passport or an identification card and a photocopy of their driving license they want to change.

Upon verification of the requirements, the applicant will be issued with a Rwandan driving license or subjected to another driving test. This process takes seven days. 

Qn: How does police ensure that vehicles are road worthy?

CP Rumanzi: We have three vehicle mechanical inspection centers including a Mobile Test Lane operating six days in a week – from Monday to Saturday. These Centres have the capacity to inspect at least 500 vehicles per day.

We deploy the mobile inspection vehicle, on a scheduled programme, to Northern, Western and Southern Province. This truck spends a week in each province providing vehicle inspection services. 

The inspection center at Gishari Integrated Polytechnic (GIP) serves the Eastern Province.

Commercial vehicles are required by law to go for inspection every after six months while private motor vehicles are required to do so once in twelve months. Owners are expected to ensure that their cars are road worthy and comply with environmental rules and regulations regarding air pollution.

I must say, it’s in the interest of the vehicle owner to have his or her car inspected for road worthiness and comply with laws and standards.

Qn: What are the future ambitions of the Traffic and Road Safety Department?

 CP Rumanzi: We want to realize serious improvement in several areas by applying IT-Solutions. These areas include integrating high way code in school curricula and reducing significantly fatal accidents mainly on major roads which we believe should be achieved through implementation of the policy on use of speed governors by February 2016.

We are also in the process of deploying CCTV cameras on roads to detect traffic violation.

We also want to establish a fully fledged Integrated Driving Testing Center, which will act as a one-stop-centre that offers each and every service in the area of driving tests. 

We also want to roll out motor vehicles inspection services to all provinces, and we have already started to realize this through the Mobile Vehicle Inspection services which reach out to vehicle owners throughout the country.

We are also in the process of computerizing ‘Traffic Fines Ticketing System’ – in this case, police will no longer seize driving license and vehicle registration card.

Also in future, we intend to roll out Integrated Intelligent Traffic Management Systems, which will include the use of surveillance cameras - both static and mobile – in cities to manage traffic flow in a modern and efficient way.

Other important elements that we want to adopt include an Automatic Number Plate Recognition System, for easy identification of vehicles and owner. 

 Qn: Last, what is your message to road-users in Rwanda? 

CP Rumanzi: Police wishes to inform road-users in Rwanda that everyone has a duty to respect road traffic rules and save life, mitigate impact of accidents and promote safe driving. 

Since development is intertwined with safety, we all need to work together to ensure that we reduce road accident significantly.

It is a fact that many accidents that happen are avoidable, they are due to reckless driving habits such as driving while calling or texting, driving carelessly, driving aggressively and failing to inspect vehicles for mechanical problems. Road users need to be more responsible.