Corrupted by a corrupt world

It was close to midnight on Friday, I was dosing off when a colleague calls to say that Richard Murenzi, a childhood friend had been arrested by the Rapid Response Unit (RRU).The RRU is the name given to former Violent Crime Crack Unit (VCCU) in Uganda. Murenzi and his three workmates had been arrested earlier in the week and were subsequently detained at the RRU in Kireka, a Kampala suburb, for failing to account for funds at work. When we were growing up, Murenzi was very careful not to do things without first consulting his parents. He detested hardship. He was honest, credible and straightforward.This meant he always tried to operate within the confines of the law. Whenever his classmates at school would cheat their parents by inflating fees, Murenzi would quickly report the scam. Like many of his friends, I was under huge pressure to help him out of jail. The following day, we dashed to RRU but we were rudely stopped by the officer guarding the headquarters. Even Murenzi’s lawyer who insisted that he had every right to see his client could not get through. The officer, a mean looking young man, said he was under strict directive not to allow visitors inside. “You have to come back after four days. His case is sensitive and there is no chance of meeting the prisoner,” the officer said. But an hour later, Murenzi’s sister took the officer aside and handed him Shs1000 (Frw340) and shockingly, he accepted it. He smiled and took it without apology. He immediately allowed the sister in! The lawyer and I protested bitterly because Murenzi’s sister was promoting the culture of bribery and corruption.“Buying your way inside is bad. It’s your right to see your brother,” the lawyer told her. The sister looked not at the lawyer but through him. “I cannot see Murenzi if I don’t give money to officers in charge of the case,” the sister replied angrily before she dashed to check on the prisoner. The lawyer and I did not go beyond the gate since we had refused to give Shs1000! Murenzi’s brother visited. He paid Shs2000 and was allowed in. For the four hours I pent at RRU trying to plead my way in without success, I learnt that it had become a sort of culture that even before a bribe is demanded, the giver throws a coin. The evil seems to have cut deeply into society’s blood and people will stand in total bewilderment when a visitor protests and refuses to give Shs1000 in exchange for seeing his prisoner. Murenzi’s sister that evening managed to ‘convince’ the police to release her brother; it is not difficult to imagine how she convinced the same officers who had said the case was too sensitive for a relative to say hi! The following evening, when we were talking to Murenzi after his release, his sister said the lawyer and I were pushing Murenzi into an early grave by refusing to give Shs1000. I was left numb and crestfallen, disappointed because in Rwanda everything follows the rule of the law.Bribing or corrupting any person is risky and could earn you a long time in jail. Both the giver and receiver of the bribe suspect each other. There is zero tolerance to corruption in Rwanda and this has won the country global accolades. The government has continuously enacted anti-corruption laws in order to prevent corruption and whoever is involved is punished harshly. This success against corruption is largely attributed to the political will exhibited by the leadership of the country. ssunna@yahoo.com