Turkish police aid Uganda in special skills training

By Gloria Nakajubi

A team from the Turkish police is in the country for a training needs analysis of the Uganda police force after which they will embark on specialized skills training for the different departments in the force.

The delegation that includes the Turkish police directors of the departments of international relations, training, African countries regional police coordinator and the in charge of counter terrorism was  led by the Turkish Ambassador to Uganda, Melib Olveren.

While receiving the delegation at the police headquarters at Naguru on Sunday, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Gen. Kale Kayihura said that the decision was reached after a meeting with his counterpart in Turkey.

“The IGP of Turkey promised to support us with any kind of training and in fulfillment of that promise, the team is here and will be able to present a report back home that will set the stage for the trainings,” said Kayihura.

 The different police sections presented the specific training needs for their respective directorates and in both the issue of handling terrorism featured highly.

Kayihura said the force is in a major rebuilding process that will see it expand and be able to handle modern day crime.

The police face a number of challenges ranging from organized crime, cybercrime (internet crime), drug and human trafficking and now the increasing terror threat with the most recent attack in Kenya.  

 A presentation from the Police Counter terrorism department showed that they have always had to send some officers abroad for advanced counter terrorism training but with this partnership they hope to have all their staff trained here.

Kayihura also noted that the force has plans of building a state of the art training facility that will later transform into a police university on which note he said the institution will require specialized support from the Turkish police.

“As we transform, we need to be guided and advised by experts from the already established partners and Turkey has already offered to do this which is a great step towards achieving our objective,” Kayihura said.
 
Deputy Head of International relations in Turkish Police, Ilyhas Ozgenturk said their country has been able to curb a number of terror plans and with that experience they will ably train their Ugandan counterparts in counter-terrorism skills.

The delegates however emphasized that preventive measures against terrorism are key and the most vital step is community vigilance.

Melib Olveren, Ambassador of Turkey said this partnership will go a long way to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the two countries.