Police officers from nine African countries currently attending a ‘Police Senior Command and Staff Course’ at the National Police College (NPC), have started a week-long external study tour in Tanzania, where they will visit different public, private and security organs.

The study tour, which is part of the one year course, started Monday with the course participants visiting the Headquarters of the Tanzania Police Force (TPF) where they were received by the Inspector General of Tanzania Police Force, Simon Sirro.

IGP Sirro, while briefing the students, stressed the importance of "multilateral cooperation in general in curbing crimes and facilitating exchange of professional knowledge.”

He emphasized the "oneness of African countries and societies on which African countries should build their unity.”

The delegation was also briefed on the general security situation in Tanzania and threats related to emerging crimes like cybercrimes, radicalism, environmental crimes, communal conflicts especially associated with land. The delegation further visited the Dar es Salaam Police Academy, Civil Disorder Management Unit and the Dog and Horse Section. At Dar es Salaam Police Academy, they were briefed on the courses conducted and how they contribute to the overall peace and security in Tanzania. At the Civil Disorder Management Unit, the delegation was taken through civil disorder modules and witnessed live demo performed by the Field Force Unit on how to respond to civil disorder. The Commandant of NPC, Commissioner of Police (CP) Felix Namuhoranye, who led the students, said that conducting a study tour in Tanzania was a deliberate choice with high expectations some of which were already met from the first day.

He underscored the importance of learning from each other as a contributing factor to the "African brotherhood” and to the "peace and security.” CP Namuhoranye further said cooperation especially in the field of training and exchange of knowledge and skills, is an essential factor in the face of globalization. According to CP Namuhoranye, the tour aims at enabling course participants to interact with practitioners and policymakers in various institutions of interest to realize how different theories learnt in class are put into practice. "Special emphasis is being put on the institutions delivering strategic policing; leadership and management; peace and security; economic development; diplomacy; policymaking and regional integration,” said the Commandant.

The students are from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, south Sudan, Uganda, Cameroon, the Gambia and Rwanda, the host.

The one-year course offers strategic Command and leadership skills as well Master’s programme in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation offered in partnership with the Centre for Conflict Management of the University of Rwanda.