Former Rulindo mayor Justus Kangwagye has been appointed National Coordinator of the Youth Volunteers in Community Policing(YVCP).

Damas Gatare, the commissioner for community policing in Rwanda National Police (RNP), will also double as the vice coordinator in charge of operations and training.

Other national appointments include eight commissioners tasked with training, social affairs, education, sports and culture and gender, among others.

The organisation composed of about 20,000 members currently, include secondary and university students and those who have so far graduated, was created in 2013 by the youth to promote socio-economic transformation by fighting and preventing crimes in partnership with police and local authorities.

The first congress was presided over by the Minister of Local Government, Francis Kaboneka, and graced by Permanent Secretaries Valens Munyabagisha, of the Ministry of Internal Security; and Rosemary Mbabazi, from the Ministry of Youth and ICT.

Kaboneka emphasised the impact of the Youth Volunteers in community policing in the past three years, singling out "strong and result oriented partnership with security organs” as one of the "commendable achievements” that improved security.

"You play a major role in national development, you have the ability to shape the society; your commitment as Youth Volunteers in Community Policing is of a high importance to Rwandans and your country values that,” the minister said.

He dwelt on Rwandan history, saying 22 years ago, a certain section of youth invested their efforts in killings and destroying the country.

"Another section of youth stood up against this, they stopped the Genocide against the Tutsi, rebuilt the country to what it is today. The foundation laid out by this section of youth is what is guiding our country today, you should hold onto it,” he said.

The youth adopted eight resolutions at the end of the congress, including working with all institutions to realise government programmes, increase the number of members to at least one million by the end of 2020 and build their structure down to the village level, among others.

Speaking at the close of the congress, Inspector General of Police Emmanuel Gasana thanked YVCP for their partnership and commitment in crime prevention and pledged to support them.

"No doubt, that with cooperation we can collectively reduce the crime rates significantly, and this is why we must focus more on prevention and your commitment to effectively achieve it is paramount,” he said.

"You should always be driven by patriotism, discipline, integrity and be exemplary in your communities.”

In a separate interview, Kangwagye said the youth organisation has supported vulnerable families through community work.

"They have championed the formation of anti-crime clubs in schools and in different categories of youth, partnered with RNP and government institutions in anti-GBV and drug abuse campaigns,” he said.

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