A Formed Police Unit (FPU) contingent of 160 police officers including 21 females, on July 22, left for a one year peacekeeping mandate under the United Nations United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

The Rwanda FPU7 headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Faustin Ntirushwa as its contingent commander, left Kigali International Airport at about 7:30 pm.

Commissioner of Police (CP) Felix Namuhoranye, the Commandant of National Police College (NPC) flagged off the departure of the contingent on behalf of the Inspector General of Police.

This is the seventh Rwanda National Police rotation in Haiti since the first contingent was deployed in the Caribbean nation in 2010 following a deadly earthquake that left thousands of people dead and more than one million others homeless.

Prior to the deployment, the contingent received the final briefing last week by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Emmanuel K. Gasana, who challenged them to maintain and build on the achievements and image left by previous contingents.

RNP spokesperson, ACP Celestin Twahirwa, said: "RWAFPU7 will replace RWAFPU6 deployed in July last year and set to return home in the next few days after successfully accomplishing their one year mandate and awarded UN service medals.”

"Rwanda National Police is committed to Rwanda’s policy of contributing to international peace building and that’s why another contingent has also been generated and ready for deployment in South Sudan in September,” he added.

RNP, currently, maintains five FPU contingents of 820 officers in three UN missions – three in Central African Republic and one each in South Sudan and Haiti.

The UN ranks Rwanda the third largest Police contributing country after Senegal and Bangladesh respectively with over 1000 police peacekeepers, but second largest police female contributor.

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