The newly appointed Commissioner General of Police, Emmanuel Gasana, has strongly warned his force that during his time in office, he will not have room for laziness.

He issued the warning during his acceptance speech at the handover ceremony that was held at the National Police headquarters in Kacyiru. He took over from Mary Gahonzire, who had been the acting chief of police.

The ceremony was characterized by praises for Gahonzire over her achievements during her mandate. Gahonzire was appointed head of Prisons.

"I am emphasizing this, we jointly have to eliminate any form of laziness, carelessness and irresponsibility to remain relevant,” Gasana told members of the force who had turned up for the event.

He added that he wants to make paradigm shift within the police by enhancing skill through the use of ‘brain, not muscles’ to match with the information age.

"The general public expects much from us and that is why we need improved management of our logistics and personnel to meet the requirement,” he noted.

He added that the police still have a long way to go in terms of standardization, calling upon senior officers to emphasize discipline and values of work.

He praised the outgoing police boss for her efforts in building a professional force and requested her to be his special advisor during his time in the office saying that he will be building on a foundation laid by her.

During the handover ceremony Gahonzire who has held senior positions within National Police since 2003, read out the achievements of the force under her management.

The Minister of Internal Security, Musa Fazil Harelimana, said that the recent appointment of Gahonzire as the Commissioner General of the National Prison Services is a promotion that resulted from her hard work when she led the Police.

"It is rare in Africa to find a lady holding big sensitive posts like Gahonzire does- she held the post of Commissioner General of Police and Deputy Commissioner and managed them very well,” said Harelimana.

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