Many times the police have taken a bashing from the media – and rightly so – for their illegal arrests of pressmen when the latter are going about their business. But last weekend the police registered a triumph that should not go unnoticed and unappreciated, when they arrested three men in connection with theft of computers and other equipment.

The arrested men are the alleged ringleaders of a gang of city robbers who have been terrorising Kigali City and its environs. It took the combined efforts of several security organs to track down and break this ring, and we can now sigh with relief that we and our property are safer than we were a week ago.

Kigali is a growing metropolis, and we cannot afford to have the city’s image tarnished by a band of ragamuffins intent of literally grabbing the quick buck. Incidents of bag-snatching, as had been perfected by this particular group of computer thieves, were becoming a menace.

It also boosts the police’s image that they are on top of security concerns, if they can tenaciously track down thugs who at one time even relocated to the Democratic Republic of Congo after the hunt grew too hot for them.

As police win this war, there is another that should be stepped up, and this is the provision of security to the most vulnerable groups, especially Genocide survivors (witnesses) and the people running the Gacaca institution.

We have said this before; yesterday we said it, and we shall keep on saying it until cases of murder and harassment of these, the cornerstone of reconciliation and unity efforts, become history through the police and other security organs’ intervention.
Ends