Police cadets graduate at Dr. John Garang Mausoleum. February 29, 2024. (Photo: Awan Moses).

From lack of medical facilities to drinking directly from the Nile River, newly graduated police personnel have decried several challenges that they encountered during the seven years of training at Rajaf Police College.

On Thursday, the government graduated 870 Cadets comprising of Police, Internal Security and Civil Defense in an event graced by President Salva Kiir and other senior officials.

Some of the graduates, who spoke to Eye Radio, expressed challenges including lack of access to clean water and medical facilities at the center.

The security personnel were glad to have made it through, and paid tributes to colleagues who lost their lives during the training.

“I am from the second batch I joined the college in 2017 and it is 7 years now. I am really happy because after the time we spend we finally finished; I ask from God to forgive our colleagues whom we lost in the training facility,” said one of the cadets.

His name has been withheld because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

“Since I joined the college, myself including my colleagues, we faced a lot of challenges but in the end, we have achieved it. Some of the challenges we faced at the college we do not have medicine, there is no hospital, water we end up drinking water direct from the river.”

“Even we ended up losing some of our colleagues, more than ten of them. I am quite sure from today; we will be relieved of some of the challenges so am very grateful to our young country.”

“We have 7 years in the college and am really happy because we faced a lot of things in these 7 years in the college but finally, we overcome and finished,” said another female officer.

“I thank Our President and the IGP because they stood with us until this date,” she added.

“There are a lot of challenges. One of them is that, as a woman, when you go to the college, you have to forget that that you’re a woman because your all treated the same once you wear the uniform.”

President Salva Kiir directed the hundreds of police officers who graduated on Thursday to abide by the ethics of profession and protect the civil population and their properties.

Addressing the force at Dr. John Garang Mausoleum, Kiir called on them to be friendly with the civil population.