Police have warned people who will attempt to use illegal means to get their way from one district to another, defying the new guidelines by government suspending inter-district travel. The Jan. 4, cabinet meeting resolved to suspend both public and private transport to and from the City of Kigali as well as in-between other districts. Now, the Rwanda National Police, the institution that is mainly responsible for enforcing the measures has come out to say it anticipates that people may try to defy them, but they (the people) should be warned that such behaviour will not be tolerated. “We are used to such challenges. We know that people may attempt to sneak their way from one district to another. They will be apprehended and held responsible for this,” said CP John Bosco Kabera, the Police Spokesperson, during a television interview on Tuesday, January 5. When the government imposed a nationwide lockdown, there were some people who reportedly sneaked from one district to another, walking on foot, since all other means of transport were halted. Kabera said that Police is working with other responsible institutions including local government authorities to ensure that the latest cabinet directives are observed. So far, among the things that are being done by police is listening to the people that were meant to travel, so that those with essential needs will be facilitated to their destinations, while others are ordered to go back home. “Police officials are present in various places to hear the problems of people. Some people will be assisted to travel, while others will not, depending on the essentiality. So, the citizens should be ready to be either allowed or denied travel. In this regard, we request them to be compliant and not tire the officials out,” he said. “We have already spent about 300 days with the pandemic. So, these 15 days of new restrictions should not be looked at as something that we cannot endure and go through.” Musanze still under longer curfew hours Meanwhile, Musanze city will continue to be under longer curfew hours than the rest of the country for more 14 days. The curfew there will be starting at 7 PM and end at 4 AM, as opposed to other parts of the country (8 PM to 4 AM). These specific guidelines for the city have been in place since mid-December 2020, due to a high prevalence of the virus in the area. Speaking about the situation of Musanze, Kabera said, “They (Musanze residents) should still abide by the existing guidelines for the area. We expect them to reach their respective homes by 7 PM,” he said. “This will carry on for two weeks as we wait for further guidelines.”
