Rwanda National Police

Security organs from Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya are meeting in Kigali in a three-day high level session to discuss several security-related issues and jointly lay more strategies to combat and prevent security threats that are likely to threaten the peace and development in the three East African member states.

Rwanda’s Minister of Defense, James Kabarebe, while officially opening the meeting on Monday said the region has experienced security threats such as wars and terrorism including Rwanda which faced the an inhuman act of Genocide nearly 20 years ago, which saw over a million innocent lives exterminated.

“Today, security sector has made impressive strides alongside other sectors in the region. However, there are common threats such as regional and international terrorism; transnational crimes require close coordination and cooperation to be able to secure our people from such threats,” said the Minister.

He reiterated that “decent socio-economic progress” the region registered over the last decade “can’t be sustainable unless there is peace and security.”

The Minister said the “good progress” being made in terms of free movement of people and goods, single customs union and other infrastructure projects require to be undertaken behind a “secure environment.”

The meeting was also attended by the Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana Chief Defense Staff, General Patrick Nyamvumba and senior army and Police officers from the three countries.