A car’s rear-wheels get caught on high of a pillar of a roadside building it has ploughed into.
Pierre Nkurikiye, the spokesman of the Burundi national police, refutes the accusations by the chairman of the road safety watchdog organization (OSR) that soldiers and police officers violate or fail to enforce the road safety code.
The police spokesman said the accusations have no other purpose than tarnishing the image of the government and its institutions. “Police officers and soldiers do not disregard the road safety code. They know their penalties are heavier than those of ordinary civilians”, he said.
Police spokesman said accusing road safety police of failing to enforce the law is a complete lie. He insisted that the police make sure the law is followed and that vehicles are in good condition.
Nkurikiye acknowledged, however, that there are some police officers who are bribed. “The prison is full of officers who have been caught red-handed”, he says, underscoring the severity corrupted officers are treated with.
That police official dismisses the words of Nixon Habonimana, the spokesman of OSR as “political”. “He talked vaguely without giving concrete cases”, he said.
On 28 November, the spokesman of OSR had made remarks on traffic accidents that are rife in Burundi. He said the violations of traffic code by drivers including members of the armed forces and the carelessness of the police supposed to enforce the law, are the root causes of the traffic accidents that kill the average of 60 people per month.
Though Nkurikiye claims that the road safety police have no responsibility for traffic accidents, he says that the main causes of accidents are speed violations, driving under the influence and bad condition of vehicles.
He also notes that it is a general observation that the number of accidents increases dramatically at the end of the year.
IWACU Open Data
