Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm, triggered extensive flooding, landslides, and widespread destruction, causing an estimated $8.8 billion in damages across Jamaica.
IGIHE has learned that the mission concluded at the end of last week, with the RDF team departing Jamaica on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
The Rwandan forces focused on repairing infrastructure and homes in the city of Montego Bay, located in the St. James parish. Over a two-month period, the RDF Engineering Contingent, in collaboration with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) engineers, successfully reconstructed 62 houses. The team also built additional rooms for a school and made improvements to a home for children with disabilities.
The initiative played a vital role in the recovery and rebuilding efforts for communities devastated by the disaster.
The Chief of Defence Staff of the JDF, Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, recently expressed her gratitude, commending the leadership of the Rwanda Defence Force for deploying troops to assist Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.
Colonel Moses Kayigamba, Commander of the RDF Engineer Contingent, emphasized that Rwanda’s intervention is deeply rooted in its history.
“Rwanda’s swift response is not driven by wealth but the deeper understanding of suffering shaped by the painful history of Genocide against the Tutsi that occured at the watch of the world. For Rwanda , the suffering of any kind anywhere is taken as seriously as our own,” he said.
The RDF deployment began on January 14, 2026, under a bilateral agreement aimed at rehabilitating critical infrastructure destroyed by natural disasters.
The contingent, led by Colonel Moses Kayigamba, included 100 military engineers who brought both technical expertise and humanitarian support to the island.
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