Rwanda National Police has warned traders and other people still hiding banned and substandard alcoholic beverages that the ongoing crackdown will continue, urging them to surrender the products to authorities for proper disposal.
Police spokesperson ACP Boniface Rutikanga issued the warning on Tuesday, August 18, as law enforcement agencies continued operations targeting alcoholic beverages that have been withdrawn from the market, including illicit spirits commonly known as “ibyuma.”
Authorities have been conducting operations across the country to identify and remove the prohibited products. While many people have surrendered them, police say others continue to conceal and sell them secretly, apparently hoping that the crackdown will eventually end.
Rutikanga said police and other security agencies have information about people still keeping the prohibited drinks and will continue searching locations suspected of storing them.
“We will conduct searches from time to time. You may hear that we have received information about a particular place and gone there, searching every corner, including the ceilings, to find and remove the drinks,” he said.
He warned that people found keeping or selling the prohibited beverages after being instructed to surrender them could face legal consequences.
Police have linked substandard and illicit alcohol to various social and public safety concerns, including violence, assault and domestic conflicts. The force has said the nationwide operation, which intensified in July, is aimed at protecting public health and community wellbeing.
Rutikanga also criticised traders who continue to prioritise profits over public health, saying it was unacceptable to sell products that could harm consumers.
According to police, the crackdown is already producing positive results. Earlier this month, Rutikanga said reported cases involving assault and bodily injuries had fallen by 50 percent following the intensified campaign against substandard alcohol.
The police spokesperson urged anyone still holding the prohibited beverages to surrender them rather than continue hiding or selling them, warning that enforcement operations will continue until the products are removed from circulation.
