Security and safety

Kigali is one of the safest African cities. Because of strict laws, including anti-corruption laws, there is not as much crime as in other places. There are severe penalties for traffic violations. Every time you enter a bank, a shopping mall, or other public venue, you have to pass through a metal detector. (I'm not sure how effective this really is, but at least it is a deterrent.) And there are armed guards outside these buildings. On the street in many neighborhoods you see armed guards, sometimes soldiers. So you feel a certain sense of security walking on the street, because who would attempt to rob you under these circumstances?

This is in contrast to other large African cities, where there are reports of robberies, burglaries, assaults, etc. In one city, for example, several well-dressed men entered a Kingdom Hall early before a meeting and proceeded to rob anyone coming in thereafter. In this same city, bank robbers use guns given to them by the police! Due to corruption, the police allow use of their guns in order to get a cut out of any robbery proceeds.

Here in Rwanda corruption is not tolerated, at least, in principle. One of the construction projects here in town is hired out to a Chinese company. Originally, they had a Chinese project manager, but when there was some problem with using fake iron (imagine!), they replaced the Chinese manager with a German manager. Problem solved! Not only that, but they will no doubt stay within their budget and every franc will be accounted for.

But back on the subject of guards, in many of the estates here in the city, with large well-manicured two-story houses lining the paved streets, the residents get a guard whether they want one or not. Probably the cost of the guard is included in the rents, which can be US$1000 and higher per month.

Of course, all the major construction projects (and there are many) have security guards. The key is to get to know them so that they view you as a friend. The other day, we finally managed to find the entrance to the construction site of the Kigali Convention Center--remember the photo of the circular building in one of the previous posts? It required walking around and around the perimeter of the property. That place is a fortress! Anyway, the security guard's name is Patrick. We tactfully asked him if we could go in and talk to a guy named Liu Zhen I had previously met on the street, who told me he worked at that site. Since I had a specific name, Patrick let us in. We discovered, the place is a gold mine for Chinese! It was during the lunch hour and Chinese were coming and going with food bowls; some had eaten and were returning to their residence rooms to rest. Unfortunately, no one I questioned had ever heard of Liu Zhen, but it didn't matter--I managed to place a few tracts and get a few more names of people. On the way out, we found Patrick with a Bible Teach book in his hand, and two brothers and a sister from one of the French congregations witnessing to him. I thanked Patrick and told him he was a "good person." Nothing like turning on the charm, huh? So next time, we hope, Patrick will view us kindly and eventually feel comfortable with letting us in anytime we come. Obviously, this is one of those places where we have to be patient: be brief, get to know people, be friendly, don't be pushy, etc. 慢慢来! (literally: "slow slow come")