Rwanda National Police

The first Rwanda National Police female-dominated contingent of Formed Police Unit (FPU) made up by 160 police officers, yesterday, returned home after completing a one-year tour of duty under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

The returned contingent was headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Teddy Ruyenzi

They were received at Kigali International Airport by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) David  Butare, the Commissioner for Peace Support Operations (PSO).

They arrived home a few hours after being replaced by another female-dominated group of the same number who constitute FPU3-2 contingent under the command of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jackeline Urujeni

ACP Ruyenzi said that their tour of duty was successful throughout but noted that the peace restoration process is still underway, a reason there was a rotation of peacekeepers.

“Generally, the people of South Sudan are appreciative of the work done by Rwandan peacekeeper. Through the mission, we worked closely with other peacekeepers deployed there,” she said

We carried out different duties, including protecting civilians, public order management and cloud control, protecting UN staff and key instaurations, providing a conducive atmosphere for humanitarian work, among others..., said ACP Ruyenzi

One of the retuned peacekeepers, Sergeant Nyirarukundo Furaha said that they successfully performed their duties due to their discipline, teamwork, and professionalism.

“Before leaving, RNP leadership gave us guidance, we followed the received guidance and it helped us to fulfill our tasks. We worked as our brothers for we were trained and have been treated the same way,” SGT Nyirarukundo said.

SSP Urujeni commanding the replacing contingent said that they hope to inherit the legacy of their colleagues who completed their mission.

We are well equipped and ready to fulfill our mission. We are female-dominated contingent but replacing a similar contingent, they successfully completed their duty. We have hope and we now know that it is possible” she said

SSP Urujeni added that they are committed to contribute to peacebuilding in other countries like South Sudan.

The returning peacekeepers were the first female-dominated contingent deployed following a pledge done by His Excellency Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda during the UN Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping Operations in 2015.

The deployment made Rwanda ranked the second to have a big number of women contributing in peacekeeping missions.