Rwanda National Police

Musanze District Police Commander, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Bénoit Nsengivumva, has called on students to play a lead role in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking.

 SSP Nsengivumva  made the remarks on October 30 in an ongoing Rwanda National Police (RNP) campaign to educate and sensitize school goers about the dangers associated with abusing drugs.

 The campaign attracted over 700 students from three secondary schools in Musanze.

 According to SSP Nsengiyumva, if students and youth worked together and in collaboration with security organs, eliminating narcotics from communities can be achieved.

 “A responsible student is one which provides major influence in transmitting values, standards, and information to his fellow students and members of the community. He or she should also have the courage to alert police and local leaders whenever they are approached by those who trade illegal drugs,” he said.

 He also called on school administrators to be open with their students about drug abuse and offer them platforms to express themselves about their experiences with drug abuse, in order to find amicable solutions.

 “Students should be given the liberty and time to discuss the extent of drug abuse among youth in neighborhoods, why drug abuse occurs, the effects of drug abuse, what schools can do to combat the problem in their communities,  and what school administrators can do to discourage the practice.”

 The Vice Mayor of Musanze in charge of Social Affairs, Vincent Ndayambaje told the students that drugs threaten the nation's youth and leads to physical and mental disability, emotional damage, and a decline in educational achievement and productivity of young people.

  “Students have to be ambassadors of this fight against drugs by alerting their administrators whenever they realize that some of their colleagues are addicted, so that they may get help in the quickest time possible, while administrators are also urged to report to police whenever they suspect that drugs are distributed to their students,” he noted.

 One of the students, Aisha Igihozo, a senior five student from ESA Ruhengeri Secondary school, said that students in the district will denounce drug abuse and  crime and concentrate on national  programs such as Ndi Umunyarwanda programme  - to contribute to building a national identity and to foster a Rwandan community that is based on trust and unity.