Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) has arrested at least 80 people across the country as authorities intensify a nationwide crackdown on the production and distribution of substandard alcoholic beverages blamed for deaths, blindness and growing public safety concerns.
On Saturday afternoon, August 8, RIB presented 16 suspects to the media, including owners of factories and businesses involved in alcohol production, as well as some of their employees.
RIB spokesperson Dr Thierry Murangira said investigations were continuing across the country and warned that authorities would pursue everyone involved in producing or distributing dangerous alcoholic drinks.
“Nothing can replace human life. Everything being done is for the public good and to ensure that people’s lives are protected,” Murangira said.
He said investigators were determined to prevent unscrupulous businesses from exploiting regulatory loopholes to make money at the expense of public health.
The crackdown, now approaching its third week, follows growing concern over locally manufactured and imported alcoholic beverages that authorities say failed to meet required safety standards.
The issue initially drew heightened attention following operations in Gatsibo and Nyagatare districts, where authorities targeted questionable alcoholic products, including some reportedly originating from Uganda.
The problem soon developed into a wider public health concern as cases emerged in different parts of the country involving people who fell seriously ill or died after consuming illicit or improperly manufactured alcohol at bars, weddings and other social gatherings.
Particular attention has fallen on small, high-alcohol drinks popularly known as “ibyuma,” some of which have been seized and destroyed in large quantities during recent enforcement operations.
Health Minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana recently said at least 50 people had died from toxic alcohol in the first half of 2026, while more than 100 had lost their eyesight.
Thousands of others were reported to have suffered varying health consequences linked to harmful alcohol consumption.
Peter Karake, a senior RIB official, recently told national broadcaster RBA that investigations had established that some operators whose factories were closed had failed to respect the conditions under which they were licensed, including requirements governing what they were permitted to manufacture and the ingredients used in production.
Police, meanwhile, say the consequences extend beyond public health.
Police spokesperson ACP Boniface Rutikanga said consumption of substandard alcohol has been repeatedly associated with violence, assault, domestic disputes and misuse of household resources.
“Where they drank and wherever they passed, public order was disturbed,” Rutikanga said, pointing to assault and domestic conflicts, some of which have escalated into killings.
The crackdown has also raised questions over how potentially dangerous products were able to circulate for so long.
Some journalists and civil society actors have argued that weaknesses in enforcement and regulatory oversight allowed the problem to grow before authorities launched the current nationwide campaign.
The government’s response has nevertheless become increasingly forceful, combining criminal investigations, factory closures, seizures and destruction of large quantities of illicit alcohol.
The campaign has also received attention at the highest political level.
President Paul Kagame recently warned young Rwandans against allowing excessive drinking to undermine their ambitions, urging them to concentrate on productive work and building their future.
He made the remarks while closing the 18th intake of the Indangamirwa civic education programme.
With 80 suspects already detained and investigations continuing, RIB says the operation will not end with the people currently in custody, signalling a broader effort to dismantle production and distribution networks behind dangerous alcoholic beverages.
