The Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Rwanda National Police, CG Felix Namuhoranye, on Monday, January 27, called for strengthened collective efforts and cooperation against ever-evolving threats that challenge the security and stability of the East Africa.
Namuhoranye said this as he opened the 49th Permanent Coordinating Committee meeting of the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation (EAPCCO) in Kigali.
The Permanent Coordinating Committee is made up of heads of criminal investigation and Interpol central bureaus from EAPCCO, a regional law enforcement body composed of 14 countries.
The meeting came ahead of the 26th EAPCCO Annual General Meeting to be held on Wednesday January 29, at Kigali Convention Centre.
IGP Namuhoranye urged for a collective approach to address criminal activities that threaten the well-being of the people.
"Your resolve should send a strong message to criminals and fugitives in the region that they will not find safe havens across our borders," the police chief told the delegates.
He called for actionable commitment and aligning joint actions to maximize the region’s operational impact in dealing with traditional and emerging transnational organized crime, such as cybercrime and terrorism activities.
The EAPCCO focuses on six security issues, namely; financial crimes, terrorism, human trafficking, drug trafficking, cybercrime and intellectual property crimes
The police chief said that collective understanding of the security landscape and sharing real-time intelligence, should be at the centre of deliberations.
"Efforts should be put in consolidation of our national databases to help us track and interrupt movement of criminals across our borders. This will require our strong commitment to enhance sustained communication and collaboration amongst ourselves to enable us move faster than the criminals," Namuhoranye said.
He also emphasized building capacities and skills of investigators in the realm of policing to harmonize operational and investigation approaches.
Africa Apollo Sendahangarwa, the Chief Executive Officer of EAPCCO and Head of Interpol Regional Bureau, said that the existence, movement and financing of terror organizations in the region calls for stronger cooperation to counter terrorism.
"The incessant trafficking of human beings and smuggling of migrants from our region to different parts of the world done by organized criminals that commit other crimes such as counterfeit of travel documents, money laundering and, in some cases, organ harvesting and illegal selling of human organs of trafficked persons, is overwhelming," Sendahangarwa said.
He observed that the use of modern technologies to engage in intellectual property crimes including counterfeiting and fraud demand more cooperation in fighting emerging crimes and new modus operandi of traditional crimes.
Aimable Mutagatifu, who represented the head of Permanent Coordinating Committee, commended the unity, resilience and unwavering support against emergency transnational organized crimes from EAPCCO member states.
The meeting in Kigali includes technical subcommittee meetings and training sessions on counter terrorism, the legal aspect, gender and cybercrime, among other issues.
In each session, delegates share experiences, review progress, and discuss new ways to address challenges facing the region.
The meeting will include technical subcommittee meetings and training. These are the 11th Counter Terrorism meeting, 57th Legal meeting, 29th Gender meeting, 44th Training meeting and the 6th Cybercrime meeting.
EAPCCO is made up of Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Seychelles, and Somalia.