Students of ASPEK, a secondary school in Ngoma District foiled an attempted robbery at their school on Friday when they apprehended a man who had allegedly broken into one of the school facilities. Francois Mugabo, 27, was whisked off the ceiling of a computer laboratory at about 8:00pm. While briefing the students shortly after arresting the suspect, Supt. Paul Byuma, Ngoma District Police Commander commended them for the act and safeguarding their own security. He urged them to maintain the community policing spirit, even in their communities and concentrate on their studies in order to become responsible citizens as the future leaders. “We received a phone call from the school telling us that they had apprehended a man who was attempting to steal computers and we rushed there immediately. He is currently detained at Kibungo Police station as investigations continue to process his detailed dossier before it is forwarded to prosecution,” Supt. Byuma said. “Working together through community policing will continue to yield results such as this. Let this be yet another example and a message to criminals that Rwandans do not tolerate crime,” he added. “Timely information exchange is key to fight and prevent all sorts of crimes as has been witnessed and demonstrated by students today.” Local residents said the suspect was a known thief. In a separate occurrence, students from technical and vocational institute in Kayonza District pledged strong involvement in planning and carrying out strategies to prevent drug abuse in their communities. They made the call on February 26 during a meeting that attracted residents, local leaders, as well as representatives of police and other security organs. “It is high time we the youth stood up and acknowledged our role in ending drug abuse since it mostly affects us. It is our duty to overcome this challenge and contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of our country,” said Claudine Nyinanase, one of the students. “We owe our country a lot; we have been given a platform on which we can develop as the future leaders, so we need to sensitize our colleagues on the dangers of drug abuse and collectively seek solutions.” Rwanda National Police has trained over 600 members of the Rwanda Youth Volunteers in Crime Prevention Organisation (RYVCPO) on crime prevention. The organization is composed of about 7, 000 members countrywide including students, who supports vulnerable communities by giving them medical insurance, livestock and carryout crime prevention awareness programmes in schools and communities against drug abuse, corruption and gender and domestic violence, among others.
