129 policemen fired

KIGALI - The government has sacked a total of 129 policemen over various misconduct behaviors. Sixty-three of the fired policemen are accused of corruption.Two of them have been officers at the level of assistant inspectors of police. The Cabinet says the names of those sacked will be published in the press soon.Sixty-three of them have been fired in connection to corruption-related, Deputy Commissioner General of Police (Operations) Mary Gahonzire, said yesterday. The expulsion was sanctioned by the Cabinet on Friday.“Some of them were dismissed on criminal grounds such as corruption while others were in contravention of the disciplinary code of conduct governing the (Police) force,” Gahonzire said.She said that the Police have sent dossiers to the Prosecution for those that committed criminal offences. “The Prosecution will carry out further investigations into their acts,” she said.Police Spokesman Inspector Willy Marcel Higiro said that many of those sacked had committed “gross excesses.”He said some of them have been serving as traffic policemen, while others have been deployed in administrative offices.Gahonzire said that the decision was a reminder to the Rwanda National Police members to behave in professional manner. She said the force cannot afford to accommodate indiscipline and corrupt members.Asked whether the massive firings would not affect the force’s performance, Gahonzire said:“It is a matter of rotation …it is like leaving a few rotten apples in a basket which might turn out to spoil the good ones you have, so we had to get rid of them.”She said that the policemen and officers have to be both accountable and professional, and should measure up to the public’s expectations.RNP has previously sacked scores of other police men and officers over corruption and other disciplinary cases.Meanwhile, the Cabinet on Friday appointed Radegonde Ndejuru as the Principle Private Secretary to the President, occupying the position previously held by Maj. Gen Frank Mugambage, who is now the Director of Cabinet in the President’s Office.Ends