English
Kinyarwanda
The Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye, has said that law enforcers need to work even harder and cooperate among themselves to ensure that emerging crimes like human trafficking, terrorism, Money Laundering, cybercrimes among others are tackled effectively.
Busingye was speaking at a workshop organized on March 20 by Rwanda National Police (RNP) which brought together judicial police officers and prosecutors to chart strategies on how to improve criminal investigations and prosecution of offenders.
The event held at the RNP headquarters in Kacyiru, was also graced by the Inspector General of Police Emmanuel K. Gasana and the Prosecutor General Richard Muhumuza – and was attended by senior police officials and officers operating in the Criminal Investigation Department.
“All crimes, big or small, have negative impact on national development and must be tackled through systematic planning and fruitful cooperation between Police, national entities, regional and international law enforcers,” Busingye said.
“Emerging crimes such as human trafficking and cyber crimes may not be on a large scale in Rwanda, but there is no doubt that they are a problem we cannot afford to ignore. We need to develop more platforms for investigators and prosecutors to devise new ways to tackle such crimes.”
He also commended the visible capabilities being registered by RNP and the selfless duties by enforcers who continuously seek for evidence that helps during the prosecution of offenders.
The Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana, told participants that to deal with contemporary crimes and sophisticated criminals effectively, it is necessary for law enforcement to become smarter and better equipped.
“Law enforcers must learn the latest technologies, understand how technologies are abused by criminals, as well as how to deploy technology to enhance investigation and prosecution. In addition to this, enforcement organs have to cooperate more closely by sharing intelligence, investigating wanted criminals and conducting joint enforcement actions,” he said.
“Over the past years, the justice sector has achieved a lot – and together with Police and other security organs, human rights and justice in our country have been promoted. Only by working together can we effectively tackle all crimes.”
IGP Gasana mentioned that Rwanda’s cooperation with regional bodies, such as the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO) and internationally with INTERPOL, have enhanced RNP standards and enabled the force to extend its arm beyond traditional borders to pursue criminals and fugitives in other countries.
“Regional and international cooperation has led to many successful operations which have crippled criminal syndicates in our region. Through training and establishing regional and international intelligence-sharing protocols, RNP will continue to detect and suppress crime for the benefit of people living in Rwanda,” he said.
Prosecutor General, Richard Muhumuza said "the Criminal Investigation Department and the National Public Prosecution Authority have a duty to ensure zero tolerance to crime and in their day-to-day work, they are two faces of the same coin."
He added: "Cooperation and sharing of experience to achieve this common objective of saying no to crime is an imperative; there is no doubt that this meeting and subsequent forums will enhance the capabilities to deal with crime."
The workshop also witnessed fruitful debate among participants, who sought better mechanisms to constantly continue studying and laying strategies to tackle crimes like money laundering, terrorism, human trafficking and cyber crime among other.
