Newly deployed individual police officers commence work in Somalia under AMISOM

Twenty-three newly deployed Individual Police Officers, IPOs, have embarked on a year of service under the African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM, to support efforts to build the capacity of their Somali Police counterparts.

The AMISOM Police Commissioner, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP), Augustine Magnus Kailie, urged the police officers to support the Somali Police to secure the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections, which he said is a priority for the AU Police.

The AMISOM Police component is a member of the National Election Security Task Force, the highest security agency tasked to secure the elections, by supporting the Somali Police Force.

While meeting the police officers on Friday, AIGP Kailie said, “As part of our mandate implementation, we are to support the Somali Police during the elections, and this is one of the most important tasks at hand.”

The AMISOM police component deploys IPOs from Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Zambia. The IPOs train, mentor, and advise the Somali Police Force on policing duties that include human rights observation, crime prevention strategies, community policing, search procedures and investigations.

During a meeting, AIGP Kailie also urged the AMISOM police officers to exercise impartiality, professionalism, respect diversity, and the local community’s cultures while discharging their duties.

“We have a mandate to support the Somali Police Force. So we expect high professional standards from you people,” he said,” AIGP Kailie added.

In attendance were the AMISOM Police Operations Coordinator, DCP Daniel Ali Gwambal, AMISOM Police Training and Development Coordinator, ACP Koffi Avemenku, AMISOM Police Deputy Reform Restructuring and Development Coordinator, SSP Alex Munyao Ndili, and AMISOM Police Elections Advisor, ACP Anthony Placid.