English
Kinyarwanda
Residents of Rusheshe Cell in Masaka Sector of Kicukiro District have hailed services offered by the Rwanda National Police (RNP) ‘Mobile Police Station Van’ and vowed to take an active role in the fight against gender-based violence (GBV), drug abuse, human trafficking and other crimes.
The mobile services are meant for citizens residing or working in places located far away from police stations, with a mobile vehicle combing remote villages looking for residents who wish to file complaints or report injustices, during which residents are also sensitized on pressing security issues.
While addressing hundreds of residents of Rusheshe on March 2, Superintendent of Police (SP) Modeste Mbabazi appealed to them to be proactive in fighting crimes by joining community policing initiatives such as night patrol and neighborhood watch.
“Rwandans have adopted night patrols and neighborhood watch among other community policing strategies to identify, fight and prevent crimes in communities through timely information sharing which has shaped the current policing land scape; this is why we you should embrace it and double the effort,” SP Mbabazi told the residents.
He urged them to put much emphasis in fighting drug abuse, gender based violence and report families facing internal conflicts so that they can be helped to prevent their misunderstandings from turning violent.
He went on to outline the most common narcotics in Rwanda such as cannabis, illicit liquor like Kanyanga and other locally made hazardous substances, which he said that they have become the major cause of other crimes like assault, gender and domestic violence.
“We should work together to protect our young generation by being exemplary and reporting drug dealers on a timely basis. Drug abuse leads to several ills and other malpractices like rape and defilement. The country expects the youth to be the light of society. You should stand up to any individual who wants to introduce you to drugs, and report them to the police,” he said.
The youth are the most involved in drug related crimes, according to police.
Inspector of Police (IP) Angelique Mukamwezi from the RNP Gender Desk, also rallies residents against gender based violence saying that GBV is a “serious security threat that undermines basic human rights.”
She called upon residents to have a shared responsibility in preventing GBV and other crimes by availing quick information on anyone suspected to be involved in the vice.
Damien Nsabiyumva, a local leader in Masaka hailed Rwanda National Police for being on the forefront to address crimes like GBV and empowering the people to take up their policing ole as well.
He asked residents to strengthen partnership with Police and other concerned authorities to ensure that crimes are addressed jointly.
During the campaign, police officers in the mobile station van received residents who filed complaints.
Police remains with complaints that are within its mandate to investigate, while the rest are channeled to relevant institutions such as the judiciary and local leaders, where residents can get further assistance.
