Officers from different security organs in the country are undergoing training on physical security and stockpiles management (PSSM), in a five-day training organised by Regional Centre on Small Arms (RECSA).

The training brought together 15 officers from Rwanda Defence Forces, 12 from Rwanda National Police and three from Rwanda Correctional Service.

The training, that is part of efforts to curb the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, aims at training selected personnel to assess national stockpiles, operational procedures and infrastructure and provide ways for potential improvements to security and safety management based on International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG) and the International Small Arms Control Standards (ISACS).

Similar training have previously been conducted in Uganda and Kenya.

Theoneste Mutsindashyaka, the executive secretary of RECSA, said the body prioritised training in PSSM and construction of safe storage facilities for government stocks, saying that such trainings will be conducted in all RECSA member states.

He said RECSA has, since 2012, been providing such trainings at the regional level but later decided to decentralise them trainings at national level so as to create a critical mass of trained personnel in PSSM.

According to Valens Munyabagisha, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Internal Security, Rwanda draws its commitment to fighting arms proliferation from her history, since these weapons played a major role in the Genocide against the Tutsi.

"Rwandans know better about the dangers associated with arms proliferation. The Genocide would not have reached the proportions it did had arms not been distributed among the population. This training will help us improve our knowledge in this area,” he said.

The training is being facilitated by instructors from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Seychelles.

Captain Justin Pamba, one of the instructors from Kenya Defence Forces, said the training seeks to improve management of stockpiles.

"What we realised is that the problem with modern warfare, terrorists are getting items from our stockpiles because we are managing them badly. We are managing them yes but we can do better in line with international standards,” he said.

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