Rwanda National Police has said that the issue of violence committed by foreigners living in Rwanda has been under monitoring, adding that in the past 12 months, about 64 of them were deported back to their countries of origin, while more than 200 were handed over to justice authorities.
This message from Rwanda Police came as a response to what was raised by journalists Kakooza Nkuliza Charles and Angelbert Mutabaruka, who once again brought back the issue that has often been talked about in different parts of Kigali City.
In their talk show with the journalists, they addressed this matter, saying that the main victims of such violence are motorcycle taxi operators(motorcyclists).
Mutabaruka said: “They (motorcyclists) are the first ones suffering because of these people called South-Sudanese youth. You take him where he wants to go because most of the time, they take like five motorcycles following each other, once you drop them off, they don’t pay and after they even beat you up.
He further explained that motorcyclists have also said they reported this problem to Rwanda police, but it continues to persist.
Kakooza Nkuliza Charles also added: “What I ask the Government of Rwanda, are foreigners allowed to commit violence? The law protects everyone to Rwanda’s soil, I think it’s the same [..]
The journalist also gave another example of foreign youth who recently drank alcohol in one part of Kigali, and later committed violence against elderly men who were out doing morning exercises.
He said: “They beat the elderly, grabbed them and humiliated them […] if the Government cannot follow up these things so that some of them are held accountable and punished […] secondly, if you are a foreigner, let’s agree that it would be shameful to be more violent than the nationals.”
In response to these remarks, Rwanda Police said that there are ongoing measures being taken on the matter.
Police said: “This issue is being followed up by institutions including the Police, Investigation Bureau, Prosecution and Immigration services, and measures have been taken. In the past 12 months, 240 suspects were handed over to justice authorities on charges including assault and theft, while 64 were deported bac to their countries of origin.”
Rwanda Police also reminded that: “No one is above the law in Rwanda and those who commit violence or other crimes ae prosecuted without discrimination.”
The institution in charge of people’s security further reassured Rwandans that it will continue to work closely with the embassies representing those foreigners’ countries, in order to encourage them to respect the laws of the country they are in.
At the end of last year, in December 2024, such cases of violence were widely reported, especially in Gisozi Sector, Gasabo District, where South Sudanese youth were accused of harassing Rwandans.
After the matter was widely raised on social media at the time, with some Rwandan youth expressing anger at what they were subjected to by foreigners, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, urged young people to calm down, asking them to live peacefully with foreigners, but also emphasizing that foreigners must respect the values of Rwanda.
At that time, Minister Nduhungirehe requested people “to trust security and justice institutions, because they are the ones conducting proper investigations, in accordance with the law,” in addressing this issue.
RADIOTV10
