160 Police officers off to Haiti as rotation begins

A contingent of 160 Rwanda National Police officers on Monday departed for a one-year peacekeeping mission under the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). The sixth contingent under Formed Police Unit (FPU VI) is headed by Commissioner of Police Joseph Mugisha and includes 22 women. The officers were seen off by Commissioner for Operations, Commissioner of Police Emmanuel Butera, alongside the Commissioner for Peace Support Operations, Assistant Commissioner of Police Jimmy Hodari and other senior officers at Kigali International Airport. The fifth contingent, headed CP Bruce Munyambo is expected back in the country this Wednesday after serving for one year to bring peace and stability to Haiti. “Be disciplined, professional and make your country proud by serving excellently to deliver expected results. Let your actions be guided by the Rwandan spirit and the Rwandan flag fly high and your uniform,” he said. Butera told the departing officers that they would be ambassadors of Rwanda and every action they take will represent Rwanda. He also commended the officers for their selflessness in service and commended them for expressing a hunger to participate in building peace beyond Rwanda’s borders. “Many of you have sacrificed and have left families behind to go to Haiti to promote peace. This sacrifice is well noted and the country is proud of you,” he said. Prior to the taking off for the Mission the Inspector General of Police Emmanuel K. Gasana met with the officers for the pre-deployment briefing where he hailed police peacekeepers for exhibiting extreme discipline and professionalism which has made Rwanda a world model. Some of the crucial work that the RNP peacekeepers have done in their mission time includes; provision of security in Grande Anse Region, public order management, protection of delegates and provision of emergency services to the local population. RNP contingents in Haiti are also fond of conducting community works, such as rehabilitating roads, supporting orphans and responding to disasters like floods, which has built a strong relationship between them and the Haitians. RNP has been deploying peacekeepers to Haiti since a catastrophic earthquake in 2010 that killed over 100,000 people and affected over three million. Rwanda contributes about 600 officers in seven UN missions - in Sudan, South Sudan, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Central African Republic, Haiti and Abyei.

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160 Police officers off to Haiti as rotation begins