Top government officials, representatives of civil society organizations, students and different dignitaries yesterday gathered at Rwanda National Police (RNP) Headquarters to join the force in marking its sixteenth anniversary best known as Police Day.
Mary Gahonzire is currently serving as RNP officer after having served in the RCS
The Minister of Internal Security, Sheikh Musa Fazil Harerimana, who presided over the Police Day thanked RNP for its dedication in ensuring public safety.
He emphasized the role of security in the development of a nation adding that “Rwanda is where it is today because of dedicated men and women who work tirelessly to make the country safe.”
“We are safe today but we should ensure that the generations to come will be safe too. We can only achieve that through partnership and protection of children’s rights. On this day, we strongly condemn anyone who violates or abuses a child in anyway,” said Minister Harerimana.
He also condemned those who witness incidences of child abuse and refuse to report them, which is also punishable by the law.
“Merely three months into the office as the Head of State for the transitional government, His Excellency President Paul Kagame established RNP as a force charged with public order; the date also falls into the 100 days of commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. This means the establishment of a well-structured dedicated and professional law enforcement body was equally to ensure no such thing like Genocide would ever happen again in our country or elsewhere,” said Minister Harerimana.
Police Day also coincided with marking of the African Child Day – – a day that is set aside to celebrate the African child particularly in memory of the children who were massacred in Soweto, South Africa for protesting against the injustices of the apartheid era in 1976.
“In all these events, children were the victims; that’s why we must ensure no such tragedy ever happen. They are the future leaders of our country,” said the Minister.
The Police Day climaxed the week-long activities in the Police Week, which was held under the theme: “Stand up for Child Protection.”
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Emmanuel K. Gasana said Rwanda’s journey to modern policing was the rationale in choosing the anniversary’s theme.
“We attribute our gains to collaborative efforts and support from several stakeholders and partners including, the government, private institution and the citizenry,” said the IGP.
The last 16 years, he said, have enhanced the police capacity and capability in terms of personnel,professionalism and modern policing equipment.
“These capacities have enabled us to contribute to peace support missions like Haiti, Sudan, South Sudan, Liberia, CAR and Ivory Coast among others,” IGP Gasana said.
Wellars Gasamagera, the chairperson of Police Ambassadors said: “The outreach activities of RNP have endeared the force to the people making policing much easier.”
“Today’s approach to policing is completely different to those that existed in Rwanda 22 years ago, where security organs did everything possible to instill fear in people as a policing strategy that created indifference between security organs and the people.”
Gasamagera further emphasized that by RNP making people their partners, information is easily shared to avert crime, facilitating policing operations.
In this year’s celebrations, per-anniversary activities of the Police Week concentrated on protection of children in all spheres, including drug abuse, gender based violence, human trafficking and road safety.
The invited guests visiting the Police Headquarters Complex
Source:RNP
