The Minister of Interior, Alfred Gasana, on Friday, July 14, commissioned 501 officers who successfully completed a 16-month Cadet Course at the Police Training School (PTS) Gishari in Rwamagana District.
The officers of the 12th intake, who were given the rank of Assistant Inspector of Police (AIP) include serving police officers, graduates from the National Police College, new recruits as well as others from Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS) and National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS).
The colorful pass-out and commissioning ceremony was also attended by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Felix Namuhoranye, Governor Eastern Province Emmanuel Gasana, RIB Secretary General Col (rtd) Jeannot Ruhunga, RCS Commissioner General Evariste Murenzi, and the Deputy IGP in charge of Administration and Personnel, Jeanne Chantal Ujeneza, as well as joyful parents and family members of the new officers.
Gasana congratulated the officers for their resilience and hard work throughout the course.
He thanked parents and families of the commissioned officers for encouraging their children to serve and protect their country.
He said: "The world today is threatened by various challenges including war, disasters, economic crisis, climate change, epidemic diseases, terrorism, cross-border crime and other things that undermine the freedoms of the people.
"Despite all these threats, we all need to live in freedom, free from insecurity and the risks associated with it. This cannot be achieved without everyone's cooperation, understanding that it is up to us all to work together and fight for a better life."
Ensuring peace and keeping everyone safe, he said, starts from individual and collective actions.
"In this context, the Police has the responsibility to do everything possible so that peace and security exist, and this goes with continuously building a knowledge-based force through training and education so as to guarantee peace and freedom to Rwandans using the available resources."
He pointed out that to achieve sustainable peace and security, there is a need for the police to prevent crime, enforce the law and provide solutions to the problems faced by Rwandans, which goes with having the required knowledge, understanding and good performance both in Rwanda and in other countries where they are deployed.
He reminded the new Police officers that they have acquired all the skills and knowledge to successfully complete tasks that will be assigned to them to prevent crimes and facilitate development.
The Minister pledged the government's continued support to build the necessary capacity of the police, through various training programmes, and to provide adequate and modern policing equipment.
The PTS commandant, Commissioner of Police (CP) Robert Niyonshuti said that during the 16-month Cadet Course, officers were taken through physical, mental, moral, and academic programmes.
These include military science, use of force and firearms, public order management, road safety, criminal investigations, staff work and internal security operations.
"The aim of the course was to develop character, resilience, professionalism, leadership, and responsibility for community safety and development," CP Niyonshuti said.