The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in South Sudan and the head of the UN peacekeeping mission, David Shearer, has announced the arrival of Lieutenant General Frank Mushyo Kamanzi of Rwanda as Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Lieutenant General Kamanzi commands a force with an authorized strength of 17,000 peacekeepers drawn from 55 different countries.  He reports directly to the head of the Mission and is responsible for all military activities in support of the Mission’s mandate to protect civilians.

Lieutenant General Kamanzi brings to the position more than 28 years of national and international military experience. Before his most recent appointment as the Force Commander of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), he served as Army Chief of Staff in the Rwanda Defence Force (2012-2015). 

He served as Commander of the Rwanda Military Academy (2010-2012) and commanded an infantry brigade (2007-2010).  He held the position of Deputy Force Commander in the African Union Mission in Sudan (2006-2007) and also served as a member of Joint Military Commission, Lusaka Peace Process for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1999-2000).

Lieutenant General Kamanzi has a master’s degree in national security strategy from the National Defense University in Washington, DC, 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, China.

Born in Uganda in 1964, Lieutenant General Kamanzi is married and has five children.