Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) has announced that since the program to test vehicles for harmful emissions began, more than 8,000 vehicles have already been tested.
REMA explains that Rwanda’s air contains fine particles known as PM2.5, which mostly come from motor vehicles and have harmful effects on human health. These tiny particles are invisible to the naked eye, but once inhaled, they penetrate deep into the lungs and even into the bloodstream, causing respiratory and heart diseases.
This was one of the main reasons the Government of Rwanda initiated the program to measure emissions from vehicles.
Innocent Mbonigaba, Program Manager for Vehicle Emissions Testing at REMA, said: “When we started setting up testing machines in early August 2025, we had already tested a little over 7,000 vehicles. Since August 25, when we officially launched, citizens have been applying and paying through Irembo, then bringing their cars for testing and certification. From that time, we have tested nearly 1,500 vehicles.”
Pierre Celestin Hakizimana, an air quality monitoring officer at REMA, told Imvaho Nshya that motorcycles have not yet started undergoing emissions tests, because some procedures are still being finalized.
He added: “There will be a system to test motorcycles as well. Wherever there is a vehicle inspection station, there will also be a special section to test motorcycles.”
Hakizimana further explained that vehicle emissions contain harmful chemicals that pose serious risks to human health:
“They can cause lung cancer and can worsen health conditions for vulnerable people, thereby increasing the severity of existing diseases whenever they inhale these emissions.”
One of the reasons air pollution levels remain high, he said, is because of poorly maintained vehicles that release excessive exhaust fumes. Normally, vehicles emitting more than one gram of harmful gases per kilometer are considered a major contributor to the problem.
Statistics show that in Rwanda, motorcycles account for about 47% of vehicles that release harmful emissions into the air.
Other contributors to air pollution, aside from vehicles, include power-generating machines, the burning of charcoal or firewood, and industrial activities, which are also on the rise in Rwanda.
REMA’s website regularly publishes Rwanda’s air quality reports, and it often shows that during the daytime, especially in Kigali City, air quality levels drop and pose health risks to vulnerable groups such as young children and pregnant women.
According to the emission standards set by REMA:
Vehicles manufactured in 1992 and earlier must not emit more than 5 micrograms per cubic meter (m3) of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Vehicles manufactured between 1992 and 2004 must not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter (m3).
Vehicles produced from 2005 onwards must emit less than 5 micrograms per cubic meter (m3).
Testing machines also differ depending on the type of fuel used. Cars running on petrol are tested with a device called OPUS, while diesel vehicles are tested for the opacity (thickness) of their smoke.
A device known as the RPM Probe is inserted into the exhaust pipe to measure the level of pollutants, which helps determine the extent to which the vehicle is contributing to air pollution.
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