The eighth cadet course intake at Police Training School in Gishali in Rwamagana District opened, yesterday, with 440 recruits, including 159 police officers, 251 civilians, 17 officers from Rwanda Correctional Services, as well as 13 ‘Allied Students’ from South Sudan, Uganda and Namibia.

The Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel K. Gasana, launched the training.

During the yearlong course, trainees will undergo special drills as well as practical and theoretical lectures expected to shape them into responsible and skilled officers that the Force needs in pursuance of its goals and visions in maintaining law and order.

Speaking at the launch, IGP Gasana appealed to the trainees to have the highest level of commitment and discipline in order to complete the course and carry out police duties diligently.

"You must know the vision, mission, core values and motto which drive the professionalism of your respective Police forces. You should all know what to do and how to do it, in order to become good policemen and policewomen,” he said.

"This kind of training requires patience and endurance. It requires men and women who will soldier on through all the tests and exercises in order to make them trustworthy, professional and disciplined.”

IGP Gasana added that RNP gave priority to capacity building in order to strengthen professionalism and drive RNP’s ability to handle all sorts of crimes in communities.

Shortly after opening the course, the IGP also launched the newly started Counter Terrorism Course that will run for two weeks with some trainers from the Institute of Security Studies in South Africa.

IGP Gasana highlighted that such a course is vital in today’s era, where terrorism has the potential to destroy, in a short time, what a country has achieved over the years.

"Officers must be ready mentally and physically, and must also be well equipped with skills and knowledge to understand the operations of terrorists. Through this way, we can make great achievements in safeguarding our country against such threats,” he said.

"We know of terrible crimes such as human trafficking, drugs smuggling and the like, but terrorism is the worst of them all. That is why we ensure that our officers are alert, and we also work with other countries by sharing information in order to overcome this challenge collectively.”

Participants in the counter terrorism course include 26 police officers and six prosecutors.

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