Rwanda to train Uganda police officers

Graduates seeking to join police undergo drills in Kampala recently. Some of the cadets shortlisted by the Force will undergo training in Rwanda later this year. PHOTO BY ABUBAKER LUBOWA

Kampala- Uganda will send cadet recruits and non-commissioned officers to the Rwanda Police Academy for a nine-month training course.

The recruits, whose number has not been specified, will be selected from the 500 police cadets shortlisted by the Force yesterday. Officers at the rank of assistant inspector or inspector will also undergo the same training.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga said the training is part of an exchange programme between the two countries.

Justification
“Sometimes Rwanda sends its officers to Uganda for training. We have also sent officers there before. So sending recruits for training in Kigali this year is not anything new,” Mr Enanga said.

The cadet training is expected to start later this year in Gishari, Rwanda’s Eastern Province.
Mr Enanga said the training of police officers in Rwanda will increase bilateral cooperation between the two countries and also strengthen the East African Police Chiefs Cooperation.

Since 2009, several Ugandan police officers have undergone training in Rwanda. The first Rwandan police officers after the Rwanda Patriotic Army led by President Paul Kagame took power in 1994 following the genocide are said to have been trained in Uganda.

Rwanda police officers are highly disciplined and least susceptible to corruption in the region, according to several reports.