Regional
police commanders are meeting in Rwanda to discuss some of the transnational
crimes that are on the rise.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Director of Directorate of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin lead the Kenyan delegation at the 26th Eastern African Police Chiefs Cooperation (EAPCCO) Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda.
The meeting started on Wednesday, January 29 and will run through to Friday to discuss pressing and emerging issues.
The theme of the meeting is Strengthening Regional Law Enforcement Cooperation to Counter Terrorism, Transnational, Organized and Emerging Crimes.
Currently, Kenya hosts the Interpol Regional Bureau and the EAPCCO Counter Terrorism Center of Excellence.
During the meeting, outgoing EAPCCO Chairperson Brig. Gen. Joseph Ninteretse,
Inspector General of Burundi National Police handed over the office to the new
Chairperson, Felix Namuhoranye - Inspector General of Police, Rwanda
The EAPCCO brings Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Seychelles, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti together against crime and promotes investments and cross-border cooperation by fighting cross-border crime.
EAPPCO is charged with carrying out regular reviews of
joint crime management strategies in view of changing national, and regional
needs and priorities.
Rwanda’s Minister of Interior, Vincent
Biruta, called for continued collaboration in security and law enforcement
among member states
“This
is a testament to the strong will to cooperate in our region with a view to
ensuring security and a safer living environment for our people,” he added.
Biruta
stressed that the meeting sends “a powerful message to a criminal network that we
are determined to prevent them from succeeding in their plans to commit crimes
in our region and beyond".
He pointed out that syndicates of
transnational organised crimes have become highly connected across borders,
becoming more complex and sophisticated which allows them to commit various
crimes.
“Issues of terrorism, cyber crimes, drug
trafficking, and human smuggling among others can only be effectively dealt
with if we dedicate ourselves to sharing timely information and intelligence,
conducting joint operations, and ensuring that our officers are well-trained
and well-equipped for the task,” he said.
In their last meeting, the regional police
organisations announced an operation on human trafficking, illicit firearms,
drug trafficking and theft of motor vehicles with the aim of reducing them by
half.
On Monday, Interpol revealed an
international counter-terrorism operation in East Africa led to the arrest of
37 suspects and the seizure of both small arms and heavy weapons.
Of those arrested, 17 were nabbed in Kenya.
Those arrested include suspected
members of ISIS, al Shabaab and several foreign terrorist fighters, the
Interpol said.
A statement said arrests were made across eight East African countries during a
joint Interpol and AFRIPOL operation between November and December 2024 aimed
at identifying and arresting suspects with links to terrorism and strengthening
key border controls.
“In Kenya, police arrested 17 people including two suspected ISIS members,
several foreign terrorist fighters and others involved in terrorism financing,
radicalization and propaganda,” the statement said.
Kenya has been a victim of terror in the past which has left tens of people
dead and many others wounded.
Last year, Kenya said that terrorism and overall crime cases had fallen across the country in the recent past, thanks to collaboration between local and international security agencies.
