Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) chief George Kinoti is in the United States to attend the Federal Bureau of Investigations' (FBI) high-powered National Executive Institute (NEI) training program.
The three-week program is considered the bureau's premier executive training program and exclusively caters to heads of various security agencies. Kinoti is the only security chief from Africa selected to take part in this year's edition.
It is attended by the chief executives of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. To attend the training, one must be in charge of a department with at least 500 sworn officers serving a population of 250,000.
International participants are only invited by FBI legal attachés in US embassies around the world. Kinoti's involvement was confirmed by the US Embassy in Nairobi in a conversation with Kenyans.co.ke on Monday, March 9.
"Yes, Kinoti already left for the NEI training in Washington," a representative at the embassy disclosed.
The first two weeks of the training are to be held in Washington, D.C. in the United States before participants head to Glasgow, Scotland for the final part.
The training program focuses on strategic leadership development and current affairs, with high-ranking FBI officials taking participants through various specialised courses.
The NEI program is also meant to build valuable relationships between law enforcement officers working in various locations or for different agencies.
"Like nearly all FBI training initiatives, one key goal and outgrowth of NEI is increased liaison and cooperation throughout the law enforcement community.
"NEI is also a conduit for building domestic, international, governmental, and private sector relationships," a statement on the NEI website reads in part.
The program has been in existence since 1976, with more than 1,000 security chiefs considering themselves alumni.
After completion of the training program, participants are invited to join the NEI Associates (NEIA), a non-profit foundation that continues their education and sponsors various research projects.
Kinoti's involvement in the program comes barely a month after 42 Kenyan police and intelligence officers traveled to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia to undergo a 12-week counter-terrorism training course.
The program is meant to prepare them for the establishment of a Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) to counter militant groups in the region such as Al-Shabaab.
"Personnel drawn from Kenya’s law enforcement and national security agencies will learn about the FBI JTTF techniques, protocols, and tactics and will work in coordination with FBI personnel in Kenya.
"The attendees will be trained and equipped to handle sensitive counterterrorism intelligence shared with the Kenyan government," the FBI disclosed in a statement on its website.
