A taxi-moto operator, who recently secured a parcel of an injured passenger that contained Rwf5.2 million, has been recognised by Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA). For his act of honesty and trustfulness, RURA rewarded Donat Ndayiramiye with a brand new motorcycle, worth Rwf1.8 million, on Monday.

Ndayiramiye could have disappeared with the money, but he chose to do the right and moral thing. The rider’s exemplary act is a reminder that every person, regardless of their social class or status, can make a difference in society through the way they go about their day-to-day activities.

Ndayiramiye depicted values of good upbringing. Such values are acquired right from a young age. That’s the reason why parents should always act and behave in an upright way besides teaching their children good values. The family is the basic unit of any society; a broken family unit ultimately affects the entire society.

To get more people like Ndayiramiye, parents regardless of their social or economic status, must groom children in a way that will make them responsible adults in whatever capacity they will later serve or earn a living as adults.

Like the sector regulator said, Ndayiramiye’s honesty challenges all of us to embrace honesty and integrity. Some people may consider Ndayiramiye ‘strange’ for securing his passenger’s money and handing it over to the Police instead of becoming instantly rich. 

Government employees under whose watch money and property are lost in fraudulent or mysterious ways as the Auditor General’s reports always indicate could learn a thing or two from the taxi-moto operator. Otherwise, whatever we do, whatever our positions or sector in which we operate, we should always let the great Rwandan values shine through.

That is what defines the true Rwandan values.