Police have clarified the categories of people who will be exempted from participating in the second National Cleaning Day scheduled for Saturday, August 29, following complaints over movement restrictions during the inaugural exercise.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said patients seeking medical attention, people attending scheduled medical treatment, medical personnel, emergency service vehicles, authorised cross-border traffic, foreign tourists, journalists and people travelling to the airport will be allowed to move during the cleaning exercise.
The National Cleaning Day is conducted on the last Saturday of every month between 7am and 10am, during which movement is restricted to allow communities to participate in cleaning activities.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Rusoke said people seeking medical attention would not be stopped from accessing health facilities.
“Patients, who are those persons in need of medical attention, will be exempted. We don’t expect somebody going to hospital to be restrained.”
He said those going for scheduled medical treatment should carry medical documents to demonstrate the purpose of their journey and avoid unnecessary confrontations with enforcement officers.
“There must be reasonable explanation to tell somebody is going to hospital. Those going for scheduled medical treatment should carry medical documents to reduce on the possibility of quarrels with officers.”
Rusoke said cross-border vehicles would also be exempted, provided they remain on their designated routes.
“Cross-border vehicular traffic. If a bus is coming from Kenya and going to Kigali, it can’t be caught by this exercise. However, if we find you roaming in the village, we will stop you.”
Rusoke urged cross-border operators to maintain their route charts throughout the exercise.
People travelling to the airport, security personnel and private security guards on duty will also be exempted, he said, as will foreign tourists and journalists.
“Personnel travelling abroad to the airport are also exempted. Foreign tourists, journalists are also exempted. Journalists give coverage on this day so they cant be stopped.”
Rusoke also stressed the importance of carrying proper identification, saying a lack of documentation had been a major source of disagreements between members of the public and police during the previous exercise.
“The issue of identification is key. The biggest cause of altercation is due to failure to provide proper identification. But to avoid this, you should have proper identification.”
The clarification follows complaints from the inaugural National Cleaning Day, when some people said they were stopped from carrying out essential duties despite having legitimate reasons to travel.
Police said the clarification of the exempted categories is intended to reduce confusion and confrontations during the second exercise.
Members of the public who do not fall under the exempted categories are expected to remain at their respective cleaning sites between 7am and 10am on Saturday.
