Law enforcers say four days after the Cabinet directed lockdown in Kigali 2,400 people have been arrested for violating the law
Police have intensified crackdown on house party, arresting people, mainly the youth who violate lockdown directive.
Felicien Kamalo and Pancard Umuhoza from Nyamirambo Sector in Nyarugenge District are among the house parties organisers who have been paraded before the media alongside 25 people they hosted last week after violating the lockdown guidelines.
According to their account, they were arrested while parting and enjoying drinks together with their invited friends from Nyamirambo neighborhoods, irrespective of knowing the guidelines that prohibit social gatherings.
“I regret having invited them to enjoy drinks together in this period of the pandemic even when we knew that such social events and home visits are prohibited. I have picked my lesson; I hope other young people out there will also learn from my experience, do the right thing and wait to enjoy their drinks together when they are safe from Covid-19," said Kamaro.
At a Cabinet meeting convened on January 18, the government put in place strict directives to slow the spread of new Covid-19 infections.
In response to the pandemic surge, especially in the City of Kigali, the Cabinet placed Kigali under the 15 days long total lockdown, while other parts of the country’s regulations remain relaxed.
Movements in Kigali are only allowed for those seeking essential services such as healthcare, food shopping, banking, among others.
However, police indicate that violations of the restrictions become paramount among the younger population compared to other sections.
Ms Umuhoza, who was arrested alongside nine other youth, was hosting a partry in her home in Nyamirambo. "I personally know some of the people that succumbed to Covid-19, but I guess we tend to be complacent; sadly, I did not even think that one of those I invited could be infected," said Ms Umuhoza.
According to the police, within the first four days of lockdown in the capital city Kigali, which started on January 19, over 1,221 vehicles were impounded for violating the regulations, over 2,400 people found doing unessential movements, while over 140 people were found in bars drinking.