Lieutenant General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi of Rwanda appointed force commander of African Union-United Nations hybrid operation in Darfur

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma announced today the appointment of Lieutenant General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi of Rwanda as Force Commander of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

Lieutenant General Kamanzi will succeed Lieutenant General Paul Ignace Mella of Tanzania, who will complete his assignment on 31 December 2015. The Secretary-General is grateful to Lieutenant General Mella for his dedication and invaluable service during his tenure in UNAMID. Lieutenant General Kamanzi brings to the position more than 27 years of national and international military, as well as command and staff experience. Before his appointment, he served as Army Chief of Staff in the Rwandan Defence Forces, a position he took up in 2012. He served as Commander in the Rwanda Military Academy (2010-2012) and as Commander of an infantry brigade (2007-2010). He also held the position of Deputy Force Commander and Chief Military Observer in the African Union Mission in Sudan (2006-2007). Lieutenant General Kamanzi has a master's degree in national security strategy from the National Defence University in Washington, D.C., and a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Makerere University in Kampala. He is a graduate of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Jaji, Nigeria, and the Army Command College in Nanjing, People's Republic of China. Born in Uganda in 1964, Lieutenant General Kamanzi is married and has five children.