Today, the Judiciary launches a week-long campaign against corruption as part of broader efforts to tackle graft in courts, in particular, and in the country in general. The government maintains that no citizen should pay for a service they are legally entitled to and this message will be reiterated by the country’s judicial leaders this week as they seek to stamp out bribery from this critical sector. Courts have committed to clear all of the pending corruption-related cases during the campaign and to sensitise members of the public about their rights and the dangers of graft, both on individuals and country. Elsewhere, the Police last week had nearly 200 officers dismissed from the Force, most of them over taking a bribe. Just last month Rwanda was again ranked the third least corrupt country on the continent in a new Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, a respectable position especially considering its regional peers continue to fair poorly in the annual index. Nonetheless, that Rwanda ranked 50th globally, scoring 54 per cent, shows that there is still a long way to go. Now, the Police and the Judiciary have in recent years topped corruption perception indexes in the country and will naturally be expected to be at the forefront in the war on graft. However, efforts against graft should be embraced across all the sectors and supported by all the citizens and stakeholders to ensure maximum impact. Corruption is a cancer that ruins nations and every Rwandan has a duty to not only steer clear of the vice but to also actively support anti-corruption measures, including reporting graft cases. We must stay on our guard.
