Two new deputy police commissioners appointed   |01 September 2021

President Ramkalawan with DCP Songoire (left) and DCP Bonnelame (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

President Wavel Ramkalawan has appointed senior police officer Francis Songoire and former soldier, police and security officer of the British Army, Ron Bonnelame, as deputy commissioners of the Seychelles Police Force.

The two new deputy commissioners of police (DCP) were presented with their letters of appointment, including their ranks, by President Ramkalawan at State House yesterday morning.

This was in the presence of Vice-President Ahmed Afif, the Minister for Internal Affairs, Errol Fonseka and the Commissioner of Police Ted Barbe.

DCP Songoire will be in charge of the Anti-Narcotics Bureau (ANB), including the Financial Crime Investigation Unit (FCIU), among other specialised operations within the police force, while Mr Bonnelame will take charge of Policing and Personal Development.

DCP Songoire, who last held the post of chief superintendent, said that with twenty-six years in the force, he has acquired enough knowledge on the ins and outs of the police force and that will help him to help bring the police force to the next level. He joined the force on August 1, 1995.

“The way forward now is for me to see how we can give the police force the new image that we all want it to be,” the 52-year-old DCP said, noting that the ANB (Anti-narcotics Bureau) will be cleansed and restructured to provide a better professional service and better image.

“We will be tough on people involved in drug dealings. We mean business as we will be zero tolerant against drugs,” DCP Songoire warned.

DCP Bonnelame, who left Seychelles for England at the age of twenty-three years old and had lived and work in the army, police, security and intelligence for twenty-five years, said it was a great honour to be back to provide the country with his wealth of experience gathered.

“I will be working with my other colleague policemen and women to boost the image of the police and the standard of service. My intention is to make sure that all policemen and police women do live the dreams they had when they first enrolled on the police force. That will include looking at their career path also, so that they get the benefit they deserve from their career,” the 48-year-old DCP said.

Commissioner Barbe said that with the two DCPs on board, it will relieve him of some of the work that he was engaging in with regard to the two sections.

He added that he will now have ample time to attend to the public, among his other duties as police commissioner.

He noted that DCPs’ experiences will be a big boost for the advancement of the police force, in terms of re-structuring and training, to strengthen the ability of the officers to perform at a professional level.  

He stated that DCP Romano Songor is as from today no longer with the police force.

DCP Bonnelame, who returned in the country last month (August), left Seychelles in 1996 and started his career in the Royal Military Police Corps in the British Army for nine years as a soldier, a police officer and a security operative. From there he worked in many other law firms and security institutions, including as a trainer and detective also.

He has associated degree in Leadership and Training, a diploma in Police Science, a diploma in Security Management, a diploma in Human Intelligence and Investigation, a diploma in Private Investigations, First Aid Instructor, Police Use of Force Instructor, Defence Driving Instructor among many other qualifications and experience within Security, Policing and Military.

DCP Songoire was first attached as a recruit with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 1995 and moved to the Police Academy in 1977 for a cadet officer’s course after which he became a sub-inspector. He worked in different posts on Mahé and Praslin and on La Digue as deputy station commander. In 2007 as an inspector, he was transferred to the CID where he was promoted to assistant superintendent and the assistant commander of the unit.  

Further to being promoted to the rank of superintendent, he went to take charge of the National Crime Services Division and later the Seychelles Police Academy. From the academy, he returned to the Central Police Station before being posted in 2017 as a training and evaluation officer in Kenya, for two years, with the East African Standby Force (EASF). From EASF, he was back to the Central Police Station and in 2019 was promoted to Chief Superintendent until his appointment yesterday as deputy police commissioner.

Patrick Joubert