No man's land: A growing hub for scamming money changers

By: Dean Karemera

Crimes committed in no man's land often go unpunished. (Dean Karemera)

There’s a small piece of land that lies between the Rwandan and Ugandan border in Gatuna which belongs no one as its name suggests. The road is joined by a bridge which separates each country’s no man’s land.  That small bit of land is a bevy of activities, with people crisscrossing every second,
...there is a long line of tracks lined on the side ways as they wait for their turn to enter the border.
On the Ugandan side of no man’s land, one will encounter fruit hawkers, airtime sellers and money changers.
The sight of people sleeping under trucks and huge billboards is so common that a person will be forgiven to believe that since it’s a no man’s land, people literally stay there. Kiruruma stream passes under the bridge through one passage instead of all three passages.
According to several residents I talked to, the single passage signifies the line that divides both countries’ no man’s land. Although the Ugandan side is usually active with people selling things along the road, the Rwandan side is orderly. No chances of encountering any hawker or people idling around.
Although the money changers on the Rwandan side of the border have offices and standard rates, on the Ugandan side, they transact business along the no man’s land area which makes it risky for gullible passengers.
During day time, chances of being cheated are slim, however at night, people are cheated if they are not careful.
As I interacted with some money changers, most of them denied doing such things, however a few said that some of their colleagues actually do cheat people especially at night because people are in a rush to get back in the bus and others have trouble knowing whether the money is fake during the cover of darkness.
“Some money changers do cheat their clients by converting at a higher fee. Rarely do such people realise that they have been cheated. Although I can’t say that it’s rampant, but it does happen a lot these days compared to other years,” said one money charger.
If a passenger is given fake money, they can report but usually this is very difficult to follow up because most passengers realize it later.
“On the Ugandan side, it’s difficult to report such a case because we are not registered and so someone can easily run away or even deny the allegation. However, on the Rwandan side, I think it’s possible to report such a case because money changers are registered, have offices and badges bearing their names,” the money changer added.
After gathering these bits of information, I lay in wait for darkness so that I get some night travellers, especially business people to find out if they have ever experienced such incidents. In the cold chilly hour of 6am, I met two young ladies travelling to Rwanda from Kampala on a Jaguar bus and one of them, Aidah shared her experience with me.
“Last year, during one of my routine travels to and from school, I was on a night bus and decided to charge my money across the Rwandan border since their rates are negotiable. I met a money changer near the Uganda side and we negotiated. He gave me a good price but I didn’t suspect something fishy was about to happen. We completed our business transaction and I went about my business. Getting to my destination, I found out that I was robbed Ush 500 for every Ush 2000. And I also had fake notes. Since then, I exchange money on the Rwandan side.”
Aidah is not the only one who has been robbed by fraudulent money changers. Charles, a middle aged gentleman who was also on the same bus narrated to me his experience.
“I was robbed during the day by a money charger who did a simple trick on a calculator. They have a way they doctor a calculator and when he’s multiplying for you, it looks right but usually the numbers don’t add up. So if he was supposed to give you something like Rwf 10,000, you end up with Rwf 5000 and yet the calculations look so right.”
Although people are aware of such incidents, they still use money changers on the Ugandan side. When I asked what happens if any one commits a crime and crosses over to another country’s no man’s land, I was told they become the other country’s problem.
The no man’s land has proved to be a good breeding ground for scammers and a place where people can exchange money at reasonable rates and do other small business. The price to pay is high, but I guess that’s the reason for no man’s land, the rules are lax.