CRIMARIO II continuous cooperation with Kenya Authorities

The Government of Kenya established the Joint Operations Centre (JOC) in Mombasa in 2016 as the operational arm of the Border Management Committee. The main objective, formed under Section 75 of the Security Amendment Act of 2014, is having a multiagency approach towards border control and facilitating legitimate trade and legal movement of persons across the maritime border.

In support of the endeavour to enhance the national and regional information sharing mechanisms, the CRIMARIO II project has partnered with the Government of Kenya, through the Principal Secretary for Maritime and Shipping, to enable government stakeholders to appreciate the importance of Maritime Domain Awareness (#MDA) which is a critical component of fully securing Kenya's maritime interests, sustainably harnessing on the Blue Economy.

CRIMARIO offered and provided training, in three phases, to Kenyan maritime-related agencies, including operators at the JOC, the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Centre and the Joint Port Control Unit, giving professional instruction that enables them to dispense their duties efficiently and professionally.

An experienced trainer delivered the information-sharing platform, IORIS, training, Ronny Matatiken of the Republic of Seychelles brought about greater interagency relationships in mentoring the operators toward "a baseline that can further develop in the future for capacity building on #MDA", stated Joyce Awino, the Director of the Kenya Coast Guard Service, in a speech given at the closing ceremony of the Train-the-Trainer level course, held on 26 August 2022.

CRIMARIO delivered the basic course online in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the need to reinvigorate the training once travel restrictions had begun to ease meant that focused training could take place, with course participants able to appreciate enhanced skills required to utilise the platform better, concentrating on the development of the interagency exchanges. The platform's increased situational awareness engenders the appropriate response and mitigation measures necessary to address current and emerging maritime threats.

The Train-the-Trainers closing ceremony held at the JOC is not the end of the training package. It is a stepping stone towards the expansion of training for other Kenya stakeholders, such as law enforcement, customs, and migration officials, to join the multiagency approach to maritime crimes that are transnational in nature.

CRIMARIO has wholeheartedly supported the Kenya partnership to meet the needs of its agencies. As both parties look forward to future collaboration and partnerships, including under the Djibouti Code of Conduct (#DCoC) - Jeddah Amendment - for the Western Indian Ocean.

The mechanism of "information-sharing and coordination of operations at sea [...] is anchored on Mutual Trust", Joyce Awino concluded.

We look ahead to underscoring the fruitful and beneficial endeavours together with the prospect of keeping the engagement and strengthening the collaboration and partnerships to tackle maritime risks and challenges and look into the security and safety of the Kenyan Waters and interests.