RDF Has Will And Equipment To Protect Rwanda – Army Chief

Rwanda’s Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) Gen Patrick Nyamvumba has told local government officials that they should do their work confidently as the country’s borders are well protected.

He said that as constitutionally mandated, the RDF has the “capacity, will and equipment” to execute the mission of securing the country.

Gen Nyamvumba was speaking Monday morning to local officials from district level to provinces and all entities associated with the Ministry of Local Government. They are holding a two-day biannual Local Government Delivery Forum in Musanze district. It opened Sunday by Local Government Minister Prof Anastase Shyaka.

The RDF chief was speaking from a region that attacked late evening on October 4 by a group from bordering DR Congo. They killed 14 people, all local villagers.

Five of the assailants were captured, some by locals themselves – including one who was a Master’s studies student from Uganda’s Makerere University.

Last weekend, another group exploded grenades in southwestern Rwanda, also coming from DR Congo. Yesterday on Sunday, a week later, 4 men were paraded in Kamembe town of Rusizi district.

There is also a quiet war taking place in that region since June 2017 by the FLN rebels.

Rwanda accuses Uganda and Burundi of being behind this group. Kigali is currently in near-state-of-war with both neighbors.

However, despite this tense regional state of affairs, the entire country is completely safe. Life in the capital Kigali and other places remains the same, confidence coming from the routine security patrols seen all across the country.

Gen Nyamvumba said Monday that security is not viewed solely from the absence of bullets flying around. When people dont have enough to eat, he added, low economic standards and no social harmony, then they are not secure.

Gen Nyamvumba said good governance is a key pillar for sustainable security in the country.