As part of the activities to mark the 17th anniversary of Rwanda National Police, Police in Ngoma District, yesterday, conducted a special Umuganda to fight banana weaver in the affected plantations in Murama Sector.

Police was joined by hundreds of residents to deracinate about 1.5 hectares of the affected banana plantation as part of the effort to prevent the disease from spreading to other plantations, as well as planting new uninfected ones.

While addressing the residents in Gitaraga Cell shortly after the community exercise, Inspector of Police Theophile Ndayisaba urged them to always join efforts in security and development programmes.

"When you are together, sharing and implementing ideas, everything becomes possible and easy, and food secure. This is the philosophy in our country in all aspects of security and development, and it has proved effective,” Ndayisaba said.

He identified community policing as a lively example of the importance of partnership saying that crimes have been prevented the proactive approach and suspects arrested.

Ndayisaba also urged the residents to actively fight drug trafficking and abuse, one of the crimes that are still common in Ngoma District and Murama in particular.

The common drugs in the area include illicit brew that is locally made and cannabis when in most cases the area is used as a transit route from Tanzania through Kirehe District to Kigali.