- “With the integration of our region, we have encountered a multitude of challenges that have exploited the free movement of goods and people to advance illicit activities,” he said.
- Haji made the remarks in Mombasa on Sunday at Mashiriki Cooperation Conference, which brought together all intelligent chiefs across the Eastern Africa region.
Image: HANDOUT
National Intelligence Service director general Noordin Haji has underscored the need for countries in the Eastern Africa bloc to unite in the fight against crime in the region.
Haji said criminal elements have taken advantage of gaps in law enforcement in the region to perpetuate illicit activities.
The country’s top spy called on the region to embrace a collective approach to dismantling the vice.
“With the integration of our region, we have encountered a multitude of challenges that have exploited the free movement of goods and people to advance illicit activities,” he said.
Haji made the remarks in Mombasa on Sunday at Mashiriki Cooperation Conference, which brought together all intelligent chiefs across the Eastern Africa region.
Haji added that transnational crimes such as human trafficking and arms trafficking underscore the need for a unified front against criminal networks that operate seamlessly across borders, taking advantage of gaps in intelligence.
“Our shared ambition for the collective defence and protection of our region is not a noble idea but one that has evolved, shaped by the shared experiences and challenges that have marked the history of our region,” he stated.
He further noted that the emergence of social economic threats such as high cost of living, unemployment and food insecurity creates an unstable environment that propels people to criminal activities as a means of survival.
The region’s intelligence chiefs are gathered in Mombasa to deliberate and find ways of strengthening cooperation and collaboration.
They are drawn from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, Eritrea, Mozambique, Comoros, the DRC, Djibouti, Malawi, South Sudan and Seychelles. The four-day conference ends on January 31, 2024.
Intelligence bosses will also address the shared challenges, and capitalise on the prospects for a peaceful and prosperous region.
The objective of the conference is to deepen cooperation, enhance collaboration, and broaden coordination between the respective intelligence organisations in addressing common threats and harnessing available opportunities within the region.
Participants were provided with an opportunity to share assessments of the threats and opportunities that exist in the region and find ways to address shared challenges.
The conference comes at a time when the region is facing a myriad of challenges that continue to threaten the region's security, peace, and stability.
These challenges include terrorism and religious extremism, transnational organised crime, political and social economic threats as well as threats associated with pandemics, climate change and cyber security.
The threats have been seen as a stumbling block to the region's economic and social growth.
Despite the challenges, the region has made significant strides to counter prevailing threats.
Through the development of effective cooperation and information-sharing platforms, several planned terrorist attacks on our region’s soil have been foiled and mitigated.
Some of the processes to institutionalise these initiatives include the establishment of the East African Community's Peace and Security Sector in 2006 and thereafter, the Djibouti Process on Security and Counterterrorism which laid the groundwork for coordinated action in the region.
As partners, the region created the IGAD Cyber Security Centre and the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) to strengthen regional resilience against cyber threats.