Rwanda National Police

A total of 161 officers attending the 19th intake of the Police Tactical Command Course have completed a three-day study tour, which ended on Wednesday, September 23, as part of their four-month training at the Police Training School (PTS) in Gishari, Rwamagana District.

The officers include 147 from the Rwanda National Police (RNP), five from the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), five from the Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) and four from the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS).

The tour took the students to Rwamagana, Kayonza and Gatsibo districts in the Eastern Province, as well as the Rwanda Liberation Museum in Gicumbi District, the Police Command and Coordination Centre department, the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi, the National Heroes Mausoleum and the Campaign Against Genocide Museum in Kigali, where they learned about the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, the liberation struggle that stopped it, and the role of leadership and cooperation between administrative and security institutions in maintaining security.

Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Boniface Niyitegeka, Chief Instructor at PTS Gishari, who accompanied the students, said the tour was meant to give them a practical understanding of what they learn in class.

“The lessons from this study tour are very important because they largely demonstrate the role and commitment required of people working in different sectors, like law enforcement and security institutions,” he said.

He said Rwanda’s liberation struggle offers lessons in unity, sacrifice, heroism and patriotism, and that the students, as future leaders, should remember the Genocide, teach others about it and help prevent its recurrence. Visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, he said, shows how far divisions and poor leadership can take a country.

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Francois Mugiraneza, one of the students, said the tour broadened their understanding of good leadership.

“Through the different places we visited, we saw how leadership plays a critical role in the lives of the country and its people, how poor leadership destroyed the unity of Rwandans and led to the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994, and how the decisive action taken by the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) saved the lives of Rwandans,” he said.

The Police Tactical Command Course is designed to strengthen officers’ professionalism and leadership in security operations, while the study tour complements classroom learning with practical lessons drawn from Rwanda’s history and institutions.