At about 1pm, yesterday, the last group of 230 Rwanda National Police (RNP) officers left Kigali International Airport aboard national carrier RwandAir’s Airbus 330-200 (Ubumwe) to complete the rotation of two contingents of 280 officers to serve under the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

The two contingents, of 140 police officers each, are Protection Support Unit two (PSU II) and Formed Police Unit two (FPU II) under the command of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Barthelemy Rugwizangoga and Chief Supt. Claude Kajeguhakwa, respectively.

The contingents joined FPU II of another 140 officers which replaced the same number earlier this month.

Prior to the deployment, the contingents were, on Wednesday, briefed by the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations, Dan Munyuza, who urged them to build on the legacy of those they will replace putting into consideration the national values and to ensure mission excellence.

Meanwhile, PSU II and FPU II replaced an equal number of Rwandan police peacekeepers, who arrived home later in the evening, at about 5pm, headed by ACP Benoit Kayijuka and Chief Supt. Johnson Sesonga, respectively.

Commissioner of Police John Bosco Kabera, presided over the departure and arrival of the contingents.

The returning contingents left a legacy highly recognised for bringing back relative peace and security, and ensuring safety of VIPs.

The FPU specialises in public order management like crowd control; facilitates delivery of humanitarian assistance, escort duties and protection of UN facilities, while the PSU undertakes special duties such as protection of VIPs, among others.

Currently, the PSU in CAR is tasked, among others, with ensuring security detail of the Prime Minister, Simplice Sarandji.

ACP Kayijuka, while speaking to the media upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, commended the resilience and professionalism exhibited by the officers under his command during their tour of duty.

"We are grateful to be back home. We are all safe, physically and mentally, ready to continue serving our country in other capacities that we will be assigned,” he noted.

"Any successful tour of duty depends upon the pre-deployment preparation, readiness and understanding the mission architecture and support from the sending country; we are, therefore, thankful for the support from RNP and the Government of Rwanda prior and during the mission, which helped us to serve successfully as required,” he added.

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