AU Kicks-Starts Training Of Professional Police Force For Somalia

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 27, 2010 – The African Union (AU) has kicked off training of Somalia's police force to boost the internal security situation in the country mainly the capital city of Mogadishu. The training begins with the training of a highly skilled professional police leadership of 34 senior police officers.

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said this week that it had embarked on an induction course for the 34 police officers who are expected to start training and mentoring members of the Somali Police Force.

AU's Deputy Special Envoy for Somalia Wafula Wamunyinyi said the training of police officers drawn from Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria and Sierra Leone would enhance efforts to set up a professional police force in Somalia.

The training of the police officers officially opened on 19 February at a paramilitary training camp, donated by the Kenyan government.

'I have no doubts in my mind that the officers assembled here today have the professional competence to deliver on our mandate in Somalia,' Wamunyinyi said.

The police trainers were selected last year following an AU/UN selection team that traveled to the four countries to conduct an assessment of the officers to serve in AMISOM.

During this selection, over 600 candidates were picked and put on a database for deployment, the AU said.

Wamunyinyi, a former Kenyan lawmaker, said the training course for the police trainers is part of the AU's responsibility to support Somalia to establish a central government, which has been elusive for the past 21 years.

Source: Agencies

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