Rwanda National Police

Rwanda National Police (RNP) has deployed two more contingents of 280 officers to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Central Africa (MINUSCA).

The Formed Police Unit (FPU) and a Protection and Support Unit (PSU) composed of 140 officers each left for a one year peacekeeping mission, aboard the national carrier, RwandAir on October 22.

The FPU will be specialized in public order management like crowd control, facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance, escort duties and protection of UN facilities, while the PSU will undertake special duties such as protection for VIPs among others.

The two contingents join the third FPU of other 140 officers that left early this month to replace the maiden contingent that also returned home yesterday, after successfully accomplishing its mandate in the central African nation.

It is the first time Rwanda is having more than one police contingent in a single peacekeeping mission, and the first SPU that RNP has deployed in any UN mission.

The deployment of the two contingents brings the number of RNP peacekeepers in seven UN missions to over 900 (five FPU contingents and Police advisors), with about 30 percent of them being women.

During a pre-deployment briefing, earlier on, the Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana urged them to be defined by professional and exemplary conduct and uphold national values.

“Rwanda chose to partner with other nations to bring peace and stability to the world. You have been given this responsibility to represent your country for the good, safety and peace of the people of CAR, so be result-oriented and keep Rwanda’s flag high,” he added.

“You were selected and trained for this mission; therefore, be patriotic, professional, show teamwork and create an impact that the country expects of you.”

At Kigali International Airport, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Administration and Personnel, Juvenal Marizamunda saluted off the two contingents.

Meanwhile, DIGP Marizamunda, later in the afternoon, received the replaced maiden FPU contingent headed by ACP Gilbert Gumira, that returned home after a one year in CAR.

ACP Gilbert Gumira was full of praises for his contingent noting that the officers were generally professional and stayed focused to their mandate.

“We effectively executed our mandate and we have left a legacy to which our colleagues will build on,” ACP Gumira said.

“Beyond our mandate, we also introduced homegrown initiatives such as the Umuganda (Community Service), which made our relation with the residents good and won their trust,” ACP Gumira said.

“The officers also sensitized the populations about the need to reconcile their differences without use of violence, which successfully helped to reduce the violence and tension that some of the residents were experiencing.”