On Thursday, September 5, the Rwanda Investigations Bureau (RIB) arrested Denis Kazungu, a suspected serial murderer in Kicukiro. This disturbing and distressing story has been in the news since then. It has been quite unsettling.

We know about what you may call ordinary murders and can even understand why some people commit such terrible crimes. They kill for different reasons – provocation, rivalry or other conflict, betrayal, anger, and more. They have a motive of some kind, not always right or justifiable, but they have one.

We have had massacres at different times in this country and the most horrible killings, the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. These, too, though unconscionable and difficult to come to terms with, can be explained. They are the products of an ideology and many years of indoctrination and planning.

However, a person who appears normal and then kills and kills and buries his victims in his house and never stops until the law catches up with him or his luck runs out, is difficult to understand. Unless, of course, what appears irrational is part of an elaborate criminal scheme involving more than the one individual who has been arrested.

Kazungu has been doing just that for some time before his arrest in the Kanombe sector of Kicukiro District. He had killed as many as ten people, probably more.

We had always thought this sort of crime was alien to us. I am sure some have read about serial killers in other countries, especially the West, and thought that was one of their peculiar ills, which, mercifully, they had not exported to us or compelled us to catch.

Even the attraction some have for things western had not made them copy this particular practice. We were only too happy to let them keep this one exclusively for themselves.

There were also cases of unexplained murders of young women in a neighbouring country. We also thought that was part of their peculiar politics or the result of professional rivalries, and once these had been sorted out, the murders would stop.

Now it is here among us, and maybe has been for some time, only we have never noticed. That is why this case is unsettling and why we must seek the right answers lest Kazungu copycats emerge or other serious crimes, such as terrorism, are committed in a similar fashion and go equally unnoticed for long.

How could Kazungu commit these atrocities and no one noticed, or when they did, took no serious action to apprehend him and save innocent lives?

Media reports show that there were telltale signs that Kazungu was not the regular person that neighbours thought he was. We learnt that he allowed no one, not even the landlord, into his house. He acted in a strange manner when the very thought was brought up.

He is reported to have brought girls to his house, but no one ever saw them leaving. In the three instances where we learn of any of them leaving, it was clearly in the most unusual circumstances.

One of them fled naked to a neighbour’s house, terrified and pleading to be hidden from the man pursuing her because he was sure to kill her. Another was only rescued by the presence of neighbours and the noise they were making. A third one also ran to the neighbours.

All this should have raised suspicion. To be fair, the neighbours were alarmed and reported the matter to the authorities. However these do not seem to share the concern of the residents of the area. This is why this case is unsettling. It exposes some administrative negligence and security lapses should be of concern to us all.

Why did they not give the reports they were getting the necessary attention?

Residents usually report suspected criminals to local administration authorities and police. They are, however increasingly frustrated by how the authorities handle these reports. Sometimes the suspects are arrested but freed almost immediately. Other times there is no action at all.

The Kazungu case exemplifies both responses. The likely effect in the long run is a growing reluctance to report any unusual, strange or criminal behaviour.

Then there is a negative attitude to certain sections of society that are treated as a little less than human, or judged evil, and therefore not deserving of treatment as ordinary human beings.

In the Kazungu case, we learnt that local authorities dismissed the concerns of neighbours because the people they sought to protect were only sex workers. In other words, sex workers are such immoral creatures that they do not merit protection as normal people or citizens.

Another reason may be found in the way we view where we live. Most people do not like others looking too much into their compounds. Which is probably why we love high walls or hedges. It is not just for security reasons. It is also to keep out unwanted attention.

This goes with another tendency. We do not bother much about what goes on in other people’s homes. We try, maybe a little too much, to respect their privacy, reserve, and even make allowance for strange or eccentric behaviour.

This serial murder case will, hopefully, be a wake-up call and lead to authorities taking appropriate response. To begin with, local authorities and the police should treat every case reported to them as a serious matter, investigate it thoroughly, and take appropriate action. A dismissive attitude is clearly not helpful.

The police must monitor reported criminal suspects. In some cases, some kind of surveillance is necessary.

All of us should be each other’s keeper a little more, of course without snooping or prying too much into others’ affairs.