On Monday, February 23, senior officers from African countries attending the 14th intake of the Police Senior Command and Staff Course (PSCSC) at the National Police College (NPC), commenced a week-long internal study tour aimed at bridging classroom theory with practical field experience.
The tour, part of the one year intensive academic programme, is under the theme “Strengthening Community-based Approaches to Conflict Management for Sustainable Peace and Security.”
It is designed to provide the senior officers with firsthand exposure to Rwanda’s community-driven conflict resolution mechanisms and governance practices.
The 14th PSCSC intake is attended by 38 senior officers from ten African countries—Rwanda, Central African Republic, Eswatini, Malawi, Namibia, Somalia, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, and The Gambia.
During the tour, participants will assess three community-based approaches, community mediation committees, community assemblies, and family forums, to assess how they promote dialogue, inclusivity, and accountability in sustaining peace within communities.
On the first day of the study tour, the students visited the Ministry of Local Government, where they received a briefing on the role of good governance in promoting sustainable peace and security.
In his address, the Minister of Local Government, Dominique Habimana underscored that peace and security are fundamentally governance outcomes rather than solely security functions.
He emphasized that effective local governance systems are instrumental in preventing conflicts before they evolve into serious threats.
“We can define peace as the presence of trust between citizens and institutions, and trust within communities,” the Minister said. “Insecurity often begins long before any law is broken. It starts with exclusion, unresolved grievances, a lack of dialogue, or institutions that feel distant from the people. That is why we take good governance very seriously.”
He further highlighted that Rwanda’s governance framework is anchored in decentralization, a system that brings government services closer to citizens and strengthens accountability, participation, and service delivery.
Commissioner of Police (CP) Christophe Bizimungu, the Commandant of the NPC, said that the study tour is one of the course components offered to senior officers in law enforcement institutions, to equip them with practical knowledge from field activities and link it with the theories learned in class.
He noted that, in line with the theme, the study tour will enable participants to analyze the role of community-based approaches and non-elected local administrative structures in preventing and resolving conflicts, fostering reconciliation, and strengthening unity in Rwanda.
The one-year PSCSC programme offers a Master’s in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation, a Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic Leadership and Management, and the award of the Passed Staff College (Psc) title.