How long will sticks be used to guard millions in our SACCOs?

Kimisagara SACCO

Friday morning I woke up on horrible news that one saving Cooperative (SACCO)  in Burega sector, Rulindo district has been robbed and thugs killed one guard, leaving another seriously injured.

Operations to hunt down suspects began, but the question on the incidents still haunt my mind.

This is not the first time a  SACCO being robbed in that manner,  recently the same bank in Kigali was attacked and its guard was killed.

Frankly speaking, no year can pass without such kind of sad news on our people’s bank and their poor guards.

So, one may wonder, why always these banks? We don’t hear such news in BPR, not in Bank of Kigali, Ecobank, or Equity Bank.

These big banks are protected by armed guards, with guns and other means of protection, no thug can easily attack them. However, at SACCO’S it’s different. The big weapon sacco’s guards own is a stick, which can even break when fighting the enemy.

Countrywide, SACCOs are guarded by security companies, and Rwanda has numerous such companies. However, ISCO security is the only one which is allowed to have guns. You will see guards from this company at any big bank in Kigali, but hardly will you  see them at SACCO.

I don’t know yet why is the only security company is allowed to own guns, while they don't cover the whole country.

For me and for  those of us  we share the same school of thought, no security company can be excluded from owning guns because sticks are everywhere. Do you think someone hires security agent because he doesn’t know where sticks are? Sticks are cheap, so everyone may have them but guns are expensive and its ownership requires legal conformity.

Officials may think of this, every security company before recruiting, it gives trainings, so if ISCO is the only company which teach how to shoot, spread the rule to other companies and ask them to use guns at the place that may be at risk.

But also this is for SACCO’s managers, why can’t they hire someone who is competent to protect people’s money? Because someday people will lose trust on these banks, and drive their money away.