Thursday, December 18, 2014
MOGADISHU Somalia -- A medal parade has been held in Mogadishu, in recognition of the Kenyan Police Contingent drawing to the end of its tour of duty, having contributed to the peace process in Somalia over the past one year.
The Individual Police Officers including 3 females and 17 males were first deployed in Somalia on 17th December 2013 in various capacities as mentors, trainers and advisors, working under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
They have worked together with officers from other Police Contributing Countries in mentorship of the Somali Police Force to support efforts at ensuring law and order in the country.
The ceremony held in appreciation of their contribution was presided over by the AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay and the Kenyan AMISOM Deputy Force Commander Maj. Gen. Jonathan K. Ronno.
Speaking during the ceremony, the AMISOM Deputy Force Commander challenged the officers to apply the knowledge acquired while in Somalia to the fight against terrorism back home.
"We are facing a situation where we have a lot of intrusion of terrorist activities in the country and this is facing the police at all our boarders.
"So as you go, I am so happy because you will employ that knowledge, you will employ that technique that you have been using here to see that you enforce law and order and also detect issues of possible terrorism and safeguard human life," said Maj. General Jonathan Ronno.
The AMISOM Police Commissioner Anand Pillay applauded the high level of professionalism exhibited by the outgoing officers.
"I am looking forward to the new contingent that is coming in, and when they arrive I will also speak to them.
"And I will speak to them about the quality of personnel that I had, that has just left.
And I will also ask them to keep your standards or even better your standards and watch them if they do so," he said.
The officers said the experience has been enriched and are proud to have been part of the noble cause aimed at restoring peace in Somalia.
"We came to join our African brothers to give our quota towards the peace process in Somalia.
"As at now, Somalia is experiencing the dividends of our efforts, to make sure that we build the capacity of the Somali Police to be able to stand on its feet and manage the activities, manage the administration of the Federal Government of Somalia," said Edwin Mugera, AMISOM Police Public Information officer.
The Kenyan Police Contingent Commander Benjamin Mwanthi noted:
"The Somali Police Force have increased the numbers of recruits through training, there is a lot of increased visibility in the streets after the training and they are performing their duties professionally after being mentored not only by Kenyans, but the entire AMISOM Police Contingent.
"I am proud to have served among the nations that have contributed to the restoration of peace in Somalia.
"I have learnt a lot of diversity from the people I have worked with and part of what I have learnt is that, we are supposed to be humble and appreciate each other no matter where we come from," added Purity Muthoni, Chief Inspector.
The officers contributed to the initiation of community policing initiatives across different parts of Somalia, participated in the training of officers and establishment of law and order structures in areas newly recovered from 'al-Shabaab' and the general effort towards restoration of law and order across Somalia.
The AMISOM Police officers are drawn from Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and Sierra Leone, with the mandate of training and transforming the Somali Police Force into a professional body, adhering to international standards.