Kenya – IOM Kenya conducted a rollout training on Transnational Organized Crime in Mbita, Kenya from 17-18 February 2019. The activity was customized to the needs of Mbita border community. The training was attended by 22 participants (21 male and 1 female) from the multi-agency Mbita Border Management Committee (BMC) and was facilitated by the Border Management Secretariat (BMS) and the National Intelligence Service.

The Mbita BMC together with IOM also conducted two community awareness sessions in Rhemba Island, Lake Victoria on 19 February which attracted 120 community members, and in Sindo on shores of Lake Victoria on 20 February which was brought over 200 community members.

The community awareness session aimed to sensitize the Mbita community on the prevalent transnational organized crimes in the region, share information on the role of the BMC, emphasize the importance of working with the government to help curb crimes as well as create and sustain relationships with the communities.

“We are facing challenges in drug trafficking and other crimes. For instance, in 2018 at least 23 people drowned in Lake Victoria due to drug related concerns” cited a female community member. A BMC member responded with, “We hope such an incident will not reoccur with improved local coordination and the use of drugs will be reduced.”

Another resident chimed with, “We would like to request the government and other relevant agencies to assist us improve our livelihoods which relies heavily on fishing in Lake Victoria. The refurbishment of the fish banda should be prioritised.”

In Rhemba, a remote and hard-to-reach island in Lake Victoria, the BMC Chair and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Branch Manager shared their direct contacts with the residents to enable them to report suspicious activities. This will also facilitate swift response by BMC on organized crimes. The sessions also acted as opportunity for the Mbita border management committee to learn trends on transnational organized crimes along Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania borders.

The community awareness sessions and the training of the Border Management Committees was funded by government of Canada through the multiyear regional project, “Enhancing Security through Improved Border and Immigration Management,” and implemented in Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania.

IOM Kenya is planning other community awareness activities in Kaler and Isebania along the Kenya-Tanzania border following a request from the government of Kenya through the Border Management Secretariat.