United States, via its Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) programme, offered world-class training to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit with the aim of enhancing its skills in combating the Al-Shabaab militants.
ATPU is a unit under the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) tasked with preventing, disrupting and interdicting terrorist activities within the country.
According to a statement released by DCI on September 1, ATPU's special unit, the Emergency Response Team (ERT), was trained on how to perform skillful manoeuvres on motorbikes.
"The world-class training, which involved skilful tactical manoeuvres on motorbikes, comes at a time when the country is actively battling existential terror threats and violent extremism.
"ERT's operational capabilities have been majorly bolstered to achieve high precision and effectiveness, owing to the nature of their assignments that put their lives on the line," DCI stated.
The officers who completed their course on Friday, September 1, will strategically be deployed to neutralise terror threats even as Al-Shabaab attacks escalate in Northern and Coastal parts of the country.
Security sources reveal that mobile tactical operations are conducted from a mobile platform, such as a motorbike, where the enemy is unpredictable or the terrain is difficult to traverse.
The training, which was administered by specialists embedded within the Emergency Response Team (ERT) sought to ensure that the officers are able to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance.
While officiating the closing ceremony, the Director ATPU Mudambi Kola congratulated the team for its resilient efforts and indubitable will to serve the country.
Kola, who was representing DCI Director Mohamed Amin, further assured the public that his team was mission-ready to deal with any threats posed by violent extremist groups, including Al-Shabaab terrorists.
He also thanked the United States Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) program for facilitating the high-level training, noting that the US government had been a salient partner in the war.
"Kola noted that through ATA, the program manager, Mr. Mike Solis, had championed numerous pieces of training and lobbied for modern-day equipment to boost the team's capacity.
"He acknowledged the support of the CEO of Honda Mega, Mr David Kiseko, who donated helmets & safety gear while expressing his company's preparedness to donate advanced bikes to the team to enhance its operations," a statement by DCI read in part.
