Ama waa la muuqdaa, ama waa la maqnaada Either be visible or be absent We flew to Mogadishu International Airport (MIA) three weeks after Somalia suffered its worst terrorist attack on 14 October when a large truck bomb exploded in central Mogadishu killing at least 358 people. Somalia was once again back in the global…
Djibouti – Mutual Legal Assistance Training
‘Locus regit actum’ Djibouti is the third smallest country in continental Africa, after Swaziland (second smallest) and Gambia (smallest). Its geographic location makes it a strategically important area – bordered by Eritrea to the north, Somaliland to the south east and the Gulf of Aden lies to the east with Yemen less than 27 kilometres…
EuroMed Justice – Paris
“Qui n’avance pas, recule!” The Third CrimEx for EuroMed Justice IV was hosted by the French Ministry of Justice in Paris on 24-26 October. The purpose of the CrimEx was to hear presentations on the legal and gap analyses of laws, procedures and challenges to international cooperation in the Southern Partner Countries (SPCs) of Algeria,…
Criminal Prosecutions Service – Antigua and Barbuda
Great to see the passing of this Bill in the Lower House for the establishment of the Criminal Prosecution Service in Antigua and Barbuda! Criminal Prosecutions Service Bill Passed By Tameika Malone (Antigua Observer) The Criminal Prosecutions Service Bill 2017 has passed its first hurdle, the Lower House with “sundry” amendments. The aim of the Bill is…
Sudan Fiches
After successfully collaborating with key Sudanese stakeholders to produce their own Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Manual in July – Judges, Prosecutors and Legal Advisors from the Ministry of Justice have now completed their Fiches to assist other States with MLA requests. The preparation of the Fiches was an opportunity to reflect and consider existing domestic provisions…
Greater Horn of Africa Mutual Legal Assistance Network
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack. Over the last month, as part of the Regional EU Law Enforcement Project, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia have produced their own equivalent of the Fiches Belges The Fiches summarise the relevant law and procedure for gathering evidence and…
Ghana – Anti-Corruption Workshops
Ghana plans to be the first developed African nation as part of its 2020 vision. This plan will need to address the claims that Ghana has lost up to 50 billion cedis (approx $11bn USD) in corruption. In the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 Ghana ranked 70 out of 176 countries with a score of 43 (0=highly…
ALRIGHT Conference – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
My opening remarks for the ALRIGHT Conference in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – hosted by my good friend Colin Williams – the Director of Public Prosecutions: Hello to you all at the ALRIGHT Conference! I am more than 12,500 kilometres away and I am sorry that I cannot be with you – but my…
Ethiopia (iːθiˈoʊpiə) – Counter-Terrorism Mutual Legal Assistance
“When spider webs unite, they can tie up a lion“ Although al-Shabaab remains the main terrorist threat in Ethiopia, the impact of global terrorism was experienced, when a video was released by ISIS in April 2015, showing the beheading of 28 Ethiopians in Libya. The Ethiopian Anti-Terrorism Proclamation (ATP), promulgated in 2009 to criminalise acts of…
Sudan (سودان) – Mutual Legal Assistance Training
Sudan was the third leg of the EU regional training to advance international cooperation in counter-terrorism investigations, prosecutions and trials in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHOA). Researching Sudanese law for the training, I read section 27(3) of the Criminal Law Act 1991: “Death sentence with crucifixion shall not be passed except for armed robbery”…
Uganda – International Co-operation Training
After our successful mutual legal assistance (MLA) training in Kenya the EU team arrived with high expectations in Uganda. We were not disappointed! The delegates drafted their own MLA Manual under the guidance of my fellow French and Spanish experts. The Manual will now be submitted for official endorsement by the Office of the Director of…
Kenya – Mutual Legal Assistance Training
After a couple of days back home it was back on the plane for another mission! This time to Nairobi to train Kenyan Prosecutors as part of the EU funded Regional Law Enforcement Project for the Greater Horn of Africa and Yemen. The practical training focussed on counter-terrorism mutual legal assistance (MLA) and securing communication…
