Uganda and Kenya are exploring a regional partnership to strengthen the capacity of prosecutors and police officers in tackling terrorism and other transnational crimes, with support from the British High Commission. The proposed initiative will focus on joint counter-terrorism training and specialised skills in Mutual Legal Assistance, handling expert witnesses, cryptocurrency-related investigations, and advanced financial investigations.
The partnership was discussed during a meeting between a delegation from the British High Commission in Uganda and Lino Anguzu, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions headquarters in Naguru. The delegation was led by British High Commission First Secretary John Bainbridge, accompanied by Hellen Knipe, the Criminal Justice Advisor, and Suzanne Richards, the Counter-Terrorism Police Liaison Officer.
During the engagement, Knipe informed the DPP that a concept note on counter-terrorism training had been developed in Kenya. The delegation sought to assess Uganda’s readiness to participate in the proposed regional initiative, which is intended to mobilise development partner support and technical expertise. Anguzu welcomed the proposed partnership, emphasising the importance of joint capacity building for prosecutors and police officers from Uganda and Kenya, particularly given the geographical proximity of the two countries and the need to strengthen regional cooperation against terrorism and related transnational crimes.
He also stressed that capacity-building programmes should benefit the wider institution and not be limited to officers directly involved in the training. To achieve this, he proposed uploading the training modules onto the ODPP Virtual Academy to facilitate knowledge sharing and ensure that the skills and expertise acquired are cascaded to other officers across the institution. Anguzu also commended the British High Commission for its continued support to the ODPP through collaborative projects and institutional capacity-building initiatives.
Bainbridge, in turn, conveyed greetings from the Head of the British High Commission and thanked the DPP for facilitating the meeting, noting that it provided an opportunity to identify areas of mutual interest and strengthen cooperation. The meeting concluded with both sides committing to maintain open communication and explore further opportunities for collaboration in counter-terrorism capacity building and criminal justice administration.