Commuter public buses will operate and the passengers to and from Kigali must present vaccination certificates, as per the new guidelines. As the festive season approached, The New Times visited the crowded Nyabugogo Bus Terminal, with many Rwandans heading to different destinations, mainly upcountry. However, some of them were not aware of new guidelines which went in force on Monday December 20, especially mandating of vaccines, among others. Speaking to The New Times, Francine Ingabire, a passenger who was about to travel to Rusizi District said that she is vaccinated but lost her phone and was not able to present her vaccine certificate as mandated by the new guidelines. Consequently, the travel agency banned them from getting onto the bus. However, she said that Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) has a site in Nyabugogo Bus Park and they are supporting them by vaccinating those who are not yet vaccinated as well as issuing certificates for those who had lost them. “Though its taking longer because of the big number, at least we have hope to get the certificate and embark on our journey,” she added Mansoor Kubwimana who works at Stella Express travel agency said that some passengers are not aware of the new guidelines; however as the agency they are trying to follow the guideline regardless of the small number of who comply with them. “Some people come here not knowing the new guidelines; some are vaccinated and others not but there is an RBC tent where people are getting vaccinated and after we can book them on the next bus,” he said. He added that they are still in dilemma regarding the shots one must have to be allowed to travel. Another passenger, Vincent Mukama who was traveling to Rwamagana commended this move and called for people to be vaccinated in order to protect others. “I am happy that the government introduced this mandatory vaccine to upcountry passengers because some of them used to ignore it for no reason and I call upon fellow Rwandans, especially those upcountry to get vaccines and protect one another,” he said. He added that he is happy there is also a site in the park for people to be vaccinated and continue their journey and join their families for the festive season without having any complications. Commenting on the guideline, one staff of a travel agency who preferred anonymity said that they are allowing all clients to travel without presenting their vaccines because they did not get the orders from their bosses. “We are letting all people travel because as you can see the number of passengers has increased due to the season. It is impossible for us to block commuters when we have no express orders from our bosses,” he said. Besides public transport, other areas where vaccination certificates have been mandated include churches for all worshippers, among others. So far, RBC data on December 19 shows that 7,241,479 are vaccinated with the first dose while 4,805,163 have two shots and 47,542 have received the booster dose.
