Rwanda National Police

Opinion leaders in Huye District have been urged to take the lead role in crime prevention as part of making their neighborhoods safer.

The call was made by the Huye District Community Liaison Officer Inspector of Police (IP) Mucyo Rukundo on October 28, during a meeting that brought together members of Community Policing Committee, Community Health workers and women representatives in the district.

“You compose the most vital part of the society, you have the ability to shape your neighborhoods the way you want them to be that’s why they entrusted you with leadership responsibility, you should as well take on the responsibility of crime prevention,” IP Rukundo told gathering that drew about 130 opinion leaders.

Rukundo particularly urged the opinion leaders to consider abuse of drugs as a security threat whose effects do not stop only on the abuser but also goes beyond to affect families and national economy.

“It’s criminal to use, carry, or sell drugs and narcotic substances like cannabis, illicit brew and other drugs. These substances have a health and financial effect to whoever abuses them. Effects of these substances are not selective; they reach out to anyone from a child to an adult. This is why we should collectively wipe them out of our communities,” he said.

He went on to say that, “Any person who consumes drugs is not in their rightful state of mind and their actions may not be appropriate. Adults may turn violent while youth drop out of school. The end-results are bad that’s why we urge you to be ambassadors of anti-drug abuse.”

The in-charge of good governance in Huye district, Marie Jeanne Umuwukiza, joined in to thank Rwanda National Police for its continued anti-crime sensitization

One of the attendants of the meeting, James Ntibiringirwa who spoke on behalf of the opinion leaders in Huye District said that they have committed to working closely with the Police and other security organs to ensure they eliminate crime in their area.

“We may have seen people consuming illicit brew but we didn’t know that the effects can go as far as the police explained. We are now committed to ensuring that we put an end for such practices. As people of authority, we are going to embark on mass sensitization to reach out to everyone and also be anti-crime ambassadors he said.”

The meeting was part of Rwanda National Police’s initiative of community policing where officers reach out to different categories of people to educate them about their role in crime prevention.