Rwandan Police and military peacekeepers serving under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), on Saturday, joined residents of Juba in a communal work--Umuganda--to clean-up the capital.

The peacekeepers included those serving as Formed Police Units (FPUs), Individual Police Officers (IPOs) and Rwandan military battalions deployed in Juba.

Umuganda was organized in partnership with Juba Town Council under the theme: "Make Juba clean, safe, and healthy and preserve natural ecosystem.”

The communal work was also attended by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General to UNMISS, David Shearer and the Mayor of Juba, Shemir Khamis.

Other officials present included UNMISS Sector Commander for Central Equatorial, Brig. Gen Eugene Nkubito and United Nations Police (UNPOL) Chief of Staff, Assistant Commissioner of Police  Bartheremy Rugwizangoga.

The exercise involved collecting littered wastes on streets and trenches for proper disposal and slashing bushes.

Shearer commended the big turn-up for Umuganda and thanked the Rwandan peacekeepers for instilling the spirit of volunteerism among the local communities in South Sudan.

He paid tribute to former UNMISS Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Frank Mushyo Kamanzi, who introduced Umuganda in South Sudan and appealed to the host country to "maintain it to keep this country clean.”

Umuganda, a Rwandan traditional communal exercise conducted every last Saturday of the month, has since become a practice in South Sudan as well.

Rwanda maintains three FPU contingents in South Sudan; two of 160 officers each, deployed in the capital Juba and a hybrid of 240 operating in Malakal, Upper Nile.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com