Regional countries urged to cooperate in fighting crime

The chairperson of the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO), Lt. Gen. Kale Kayihura, has called upon member countries to be vigilant of the increasing transnational crimes, calling for strong cooperation in thwarting the felonies.Gen. Kayihura, the Inspector General of Uganda Police, is in Kigali to discuss various security issues as well as assessing the implementation of previous decisions by the EAPCCO meeting.During the meeting with RNP officers, led by IGP Emmanuel Gasana, Kayihura said criminals were abusing regional integration framework under which free movement of persons has been eased.He said countries are focusing more on domestic issues, and called crime prevention to be ‘regionalised’.“If you take care of your own security and forget neighbours, you’re deceiving yourself. We need to help each other in building capacity and cooperation to end cross-border crimes,” Kayihura said.Gasana, for his part, said criminals now use technology in transnational crimes and called for teamwork to fight them.“Criminals take advantages of modern technology to commit high-risk crimes that affect national interests. The challenge remains how we use the same technology to deter the crimes committed and ensure that fugitives are apprehended and brought to justice,” he said.EAPCCO was established as an effective way of improving international police cooperation in combating transnational crimes through cooperation and collaboration, adoption of joint strategies, monitoring and information exchange.Gasana, who also represents the continent on the Interpol executive committee, urged African countries to unite and fight to ensure peace and security.EAPCCO is made up of 12 member countries; Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda. Others are Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

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Regional countries urged to cooperate in fighting crime