The Traffic and Road Safety Department of the Rwanda National Police has said that it has not made any changes in regard to fines slapped on people who are caught drink-driving or using their phones while driving.

In recent days, various messages have been circulating on social media, claiming that drink-driving fines have more than tripled from Rwf150,000 to Rwf400,000, and those for using the phone while driving had risen from Rwf25,000 to Rwf150,000.

"Those are lies,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) René Irere, the Spokesperson of Rwanda National Police (RNP) Traffic and Road Safety department, told The New Times in an interview.

"I don’t know where the audio that is circulating came from, but the penalties for these traffic offences are still the same,” he added.

However, he called upon all road users to be responsible, avoid drink-driving, over-speeding, using their phones while on the road, among other practices that can lead to accidents.

Often, if punishments for traffic offences are to be altered, there is a national road safety committee that has to sit to make such decisions in accordance with the problems around.