NAIROBI, Kenya, May 12 — United Kingdom’s Security Minister Tom Tugendhat has expressed satisfaction with the progress made by Kenya’s Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU) in taming terrorists.
Speaking during a visit to Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI’s) Headquarters, ATPU’s mother agency on Thursday, Tugendhat acknowledged the role of UK-Kenya security partnerships in strengthening counter-terrorism efforts within the criminal justice system.
“The primary focus of such partnerships is to strengthen counter-terrorist capacity within the criminal justice system, in line with international human rights standards,” he said.
DCI Director Mohamed Amin acknowledged the support that the UK has accorded the ATPU overtime, indicating that the various activities including trainings on terrorist financing, witness interviews and capacity building.
“The partnership has made a positive impact on the way ATPU detectives handle terrorism cases,” said Amin.
The UK and Kenya signed new agreements that will boost cooperation on security on Wednesday.
The agreements were signed between Tugendhat and his Kenyan counterpart for the Interior and National Administration docket, Kithure Kindiki.
The agreements include commitments on counter-terrorism (worth Sh1.7 billion a year), defence, international cooperation, community security, law enforcement and criminal justice, cyber security and bilateral, multilateral and regional coordination.
The two ministers held bilateral talks that focus on community security, prevention of violent extremism, counterterrorism, regional security, immigration crimes, cyber-crimes.
Kindiki said the arrangement which was initiated in 2015 now includes new components to help the two States fight terrorism, transnational organized crime and illicit financial flows.
The agreement was further strengthened by the signing of two subsequent
Kenya-UK Security Compacts in August 2018 and January 2021 and the launch of the Kenya-UK Strategic Partnership in
January 2020.
The partnerships will be assed through Annual UK-Kenya High Level Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue, the first of which will be held in London in September 2023.
