EAPCO chief commends Rwanda police

KIGALI - The Chairman of Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (EAPCCO) commended the Rwanda National Police (RNP) for taking all necessary measures to tackle crime, in line with the organisation’s values. First Lt. General Osman El-Hussein Saad Hashim made the remarks, yesterday, while meeting senior Police officers at the headquarters in Kacyiru. Hashim, who is also the Director General of the Sudan Police Forces, visited the Rwandan police to assess the implementation of the resolutions of the 12th EAPCCO Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Khartoum, Sudan in October last year. “We appreciate the well- done work in the implementation process of the resolutions. Rwanda is advanced in fighting Gender Based Violence. We (EAPCCO members) can learn from Rwanda’s experience,” said Hashim. Among the key resolutions adopted during the meeting were to fight counterfeit medical and pharmaceutical products and support capacity building of the Somalia police force. Others included a joint training on various scenarios to give officers a common understanding of how to tackle certain crimes such as terrorism, drug and human trafficking. A taskforce which brings together the RNP, Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS), Customs, the national drugs store (CAMERWA) and the Ministry of Health, has been established to deal with the problem of counterfeit and expired medical products. The Inspector General of Police, Emmanuel Gasana, noted that the world is facing challenges of trans-national crimes, including money laundering, illicit firearms, and human trafficking. “In this age of Information Communication Technology, criminals take advantage of modern technology to commit crimes and escape from the law. The challenge before us as law enforcement agencies is how we can use the same technology better than criminals to deter crimes and ensure fugitives are apprehended to face justice,” Gasana said. He noted that no single country or police force can fight such crimes alone. “It is imperative that police in the region, and the world at large, join hands to ensure that there is no hiding place for such criminals,” the IGP stated. Gasana emphasised that Rwanda is committed to “defeat criminals” following the acquisition of Interpol 1-24/7 tool, which enables police to request, submit and access vital data instantly in a secure environment. “All we need to defeat criminals is simply promoting regional and international police cooperation, joint training and mutual assistance.” Ends