Kigali City tops gender crime list

The three districts that make up Kigali City have been reported to have the highest reported figures of the gender-based violence (GBV). Since 2006, crimes related to GBV including defilement, rape, suicide and domestic killings have been more prevalent in the districts of Nyarugenge, Gasabo and Kicukiro. Speaking to the three districts leadership at various levels, Assistant Inspector of Police Beline Mukamana, from the National Police Gender Desk, attributed this to over population in the city. The population of Kigali City is estimated at one million. “Last year we had 2,051 reports of older men having sex with minors and this is the greatest offence but those that went unreported in the villages could even be far more than this,” Mukamana said yesterday. She disclosed that during the last three years, 84 women were killed by their husbands, 29 men killed by their wives while 21 committed suicide under unknown circumstances but all related to family misunderstandings. She condemned the rampant consumption of illicit drugs in Kigali for most of these crimes. “We should all stand up to fight these acts because almost all the crimes are committed under the influence of drugs and alcohol,” she cautioned. Mukamana admonished parents who do not care about their children and subsequently expose them to the risk associated with taking drugs which has now become a common concern both in Rwanda and the region. On the recent regional reports of drug and child trafficking which have been reported to be on the rise, Kigali City, Vice Mayor Jeanne d’Arc Gakuba said that measures are being taken to combat it. “At the end of this month, during the customary community work (Umuganda), every cell shall choose two people; a man and woman, who will be in charge of daily supervision and prevention of GBV,” Gakuba said. She pointed out that the people will also be charged with setting up cooperative societies to compliment the existing ones in the fight against poverty. Gakuba emphasized the need for parents to responsibly plan the number of children they will bear before hand in order to ensure safety and security. She called upon women to avoid over dependence on their husbands which she says entices men to treat them as liabilities hence promoting GBV. Ends