The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Johnston Busingye, has said that the fines currently imposed on people dealing in illicit local brew could be increased. He noted this during a media interaction session on the role of citizens in preventing road accidents and other crimes at the Police Headquarters in Kigali, after a journalist said the fines in place today are not effective enough. Busingye said: “The problem of illicit brew is real, we are doing and will continue to do everything we can to limit it. We are working with the Police, citizens and local leaders to fight it”. The minister noted that the existing penalties would be revised if what the journalist was saying was found to be true. In 2017, joint operations by Rwanda National Police and Rwanda Bureau of Standards closed 45 illegal breweries in the Eastern Province. In 2018, there were 218 local distilleries countrywide engaged in the production of more than 150 different brands of illicit alcohol. Speaking to Saturday Times on Friday, Commissioner of Police (CP) John Bosco Kabera, the RNP spokesperson, local illicit brew is regarded as simple narcotic drugs in the law. A 2019 Ministerial Order establishing the list of narcotic drugs and their categorization, in its article 5, specifies the list of simple narcotic drugs. Drinks considered as simple narcotic drugs are subdivided in several categories, including: alcoholic drinks produced without complying with standards and other laws; and chemical substances whose original intended use had been altered, and used as narcotic drugs. Under article 263 of the 2018 law determining offences and penalties in general, producing, trafficking or selling simple narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances attracts a term of not less than seven years and not more than 10 years in prison and a fine of not less than Rwf5 million and less than Rwf10 million. On the other hand, the Rwanda Standards Bureau (RSB), in partnership with local leaders, usually sets financial penalties that are based on the quantity of seized substances and the number of times the offender has committed the same offence. Kabera told Saturday Times that harmonisation of the penalties was needed. “Just like the law determining offences and penalties on drugs is clear, harmonisation of penalties on illicit local brew is needed. About tightening penalties in general, it is a good idea, and it would contribute to deterance of its production and supply”. Generally, citizens work with the Police in the fighting of illicit brews. In Nyagatare District, for instance, citizens vowed to cooperate in the war against drug trafficking and illicit brew by sharing information with authorities. Traffickers in the eastern part of the country largely engage in trading of an illicit gin, commonly known as Kanyanga. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
