Rwanda National Police has embarked on an exercise that will see the auction of 114 impounded vehicles whose owners have failed to claim them.

Of these, 99 will be sold in an auction in Kigali and 15 in different parts of the country in an exercise that will be overseen in partnership with the National Public Prosecution Authority.

The exercise, which is the first of its kind and is expected to take 30 days in all the provinces and City of Kigali, will also see 1,493 motorcycles and 1,441 bicycles sold countrywide. 

Of these, 670 motorcycles and 830 bicycles will be sold in Kigali while 823 motorcycles and 611 motorcycles will be sold upcountry.

The Spokesperson of Traffic and Road Safety Department, Emmanuel Kabanda, told The New Times that the auction involves cars impounded since 2000 that have never been claimed by owners. 

"We have been impounding cars since 2000 but the owners haven’t been claiming them. When we impound a car, there are things that the owner is required to do which mostly involve paying a fine. There is also a category of cars, bicycles or motorcycles that we impound because they have been left on the road and they are affecting traffic,” he said.

According to Article 24 of the law regulating traffic and road safety, impounding is the transfer of a vehicle to a place designated by the administrative authority for holding until a decision is reached at the expenses of the vehicle owner.

Kabanda said the decision to auction came after the owners failed to reclaim their property despite being given ample time to do so.

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