Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) has urged the public in general and local leaders, in particular, to join hands in fighting defilement and work together to ensure that perpetrators are brought to book. “Fighting child defilement requires a holistic approach involving different stakeholders, from public and private institutions, to jointly address factors that influence defilement such as extreme poverty, broken families, domestic violence, bad neighbourhood, peer groups, bad attitudes, and ignorance,” Thierry B. Murangira, the RIB spokesperson, said. Murangira made this call thsi week following the launch of a countrywide exercise to arrest suspected defilers with view to give justice to the victims. “Statistics around child defilement are not good at all,” Murangira said in an interview. The operation, which was launched a few days back, has seen at least 60 people arrested in two districts; 50 in Gicumbi and 10 in Rusizi. Speaking to The New Times, Murangira said the operation is part of efforts to follow up on a report released last year on the state of defilement in the country. “Defilement is among most prevalent crimes in Rwanda with devastating consequences both to the victim and the society. It is often predicated on convincing the victim not to report the case, and, as a result, reporting, and disclosure become low or delayed,” Murangira said, adding that this impedes justice to the victims. Murangira added that most suspects are known in the community or family and often groom potential victims and befriend their families prior to the commission of defilement. Other major offenders are relatives who live with families of the victims, which may lead to cover-up, ostensibly not to bring shame to the family. According to a report released by the investigation bureau in October last year, during a period of three years ending June 2021, they recorded 1,163 cases of incest – involving family members who defile children they live with. Murangira said that this is a situation where a family member presumed to be the protector of the child becomes the predator. “This wicked behaviour of defiling children can’t end without their support,” he said. According to Murangira, they will continue with the operation in different districts depending on the availability of information from the communities. “We base it on the availability of information. The moment all necessary information has been collected, case files compiled we proceed in arresting suspects” he explained. According to RIB, a total of 12,840 defilement cases were recorded across the country in three years (August 2018-June 2021), an increase of 1,897 from the previous three-year period. The cases involved 13,646 victims and 13,485 suspects.
