The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Johnston Busingye, on Sunday, inaugurated the newly built village office of Cyankongi of Rusheshe Cell, Masaka Sector in Kicukiro District.

The facility is among 30 village offices to be constructed across the country by Rwanda National Police (RNP) in its ongoing Police Week to mark its 18th anniversary.

The facility has office rooms, a conference hall, and television sets connected to a decoder all powered by solar energy.

This year’s Police Week is running under the theme: "18 Years of Partnership in Policing: Towards a Crime-free Village.”

The theme describes a deliberate move to engage the general public in embracing the philosophy of community policing to promote crime-free villages.

Faidah Bicamumpaka, the village chief of Cyankongi, who received the keys to the office on behalf of the residents, thanked government and police for the support, and added that "we have no doubt that even what we don’t have now we will get it in the near future”.

According to Bicamumpaka, the new office will also offer platform for residents to meet and discuss the development and security of their village.

Police also connected all households in Cyankongi with solar energy.

"We have more reason to support our security organs and to be part of the overall security and development agenda because all that is being done is for our wellbeing,” said Dativa Tuyisabe, a resident of the village.

She added: "It is possible to have and live in a crime-free village. This village has not recorded any crime for the past six months; we embraced security aspects like neighborhood watch and information sharing on security matters.”

Minister Busingye commended efforts of Cyankongi residents in fighting crimes and turning their village into one of the crime-free villages in the country.

"You have played a commendable role in securing your village, maintain that spirit and tempo,” the minister said.

He added: "Such efforts should also be employed to fight poverty, taking children to school and ensuring everybody in the village has health insurance (Mutuelle de Sante).”

He reminded residents that security is the foundation of sustainable development.

"The more a country keeps enjoying security, the more it advances in terms of economic progress,” he said, calling on residents to always play a primary responsibility in crime prevention.

He further urged the residents to protect and make good use of the new office and solar energy to foster their welfare.

Dr Jeanne Nyirahabimana, the Mayor of Kicukiro, commended RNP for its human security activities.

This, she said, has contributed significantly to the decrease in crimes in Kicukiro.

The mayor also called upon grassroots leaders to emulate the good example set by Cyankongi village.

"What this village has been able to do in crime prevention should be a good lesson to other villages. It shows us as leaders and the citizenry that living in a crime-free village is possible,” Nyirahabimana said.

The inauguration of Cyankongi village office is part of a series of activities organised under the Police Week in the run up to the Force’s 18-year celebrations.

Other activities include awareness campaigns against gender based violence, drug abuse, corruption as well as connecting at least 3,000 disadvantaged households across the country with solar energy.

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