A very extraordinary and mysterious affair unfolded in Kigali this week. Over $600,000 in cash was recovered from suspected robbers who had stolen it as it was being transported from Rubavu in western Rwanda to Kigali. 

The mystery around the whole affair lies in the fact that there are many banks in Rubavu, and the owner, a Burundian-born who deals in minerals, entrusted two of his employees to take the money all the way to Kigali by car.

The businessman probably had his own reasons for that risky venture, but that’s beside the point.

Indeed the question that still lingers and begs some answers is why someone who can amass that kind of money recklessly tempts subordinates and their acolytes?

The police should not have been satisfied in just arresting the suspects and returning the money, they should have dug deeper into the mystery. What is the source of the funds?

Maybe it could be honest suspicion on the part of this newspaper, maybe the Burundian national was legitimately transacting business and has blind belief in the security of our country, but one does not tempt the skies by going out in the midst of a thunderstorm. Everything has a limit, but something does not add up.

It is clear that there is need for strong regulations on the amount of cash that can be carried by individuals under different circumstances.