The initiative to establish a Kenyan Joint Terrorism Task Force began after the al-Shabaab terrorist attack on the DusitD2 Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya on January 16, 2019/COURTESY
NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 11 – The American Department of State and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have partnered to assist Kenya create the first Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) which will be based in Nairobi.
In a statement, the Department of State says the Kenyan-led task force will be a multi-agency counterterrorism investigative force.
42 Kenyan investigators will be selected to receive a 12-week intensive counterterrorism training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
The FBI will administer the curriculum and provide training with assistance from other agencies, as applicable.
The selected investigators will adopt methodologies used by U.S.-based JTTFs and be trained to handle sensitive counterterrorism intelligence shared with the Kenyan government.
They will be trained and equipped to investigate all terrorism matters deemed of significant importance to Kenya’s National Security Council.
Upon completion of the course, the JTTF-K officers will return to Kenya, where they will be assisted by an FBI Special Agent mentor.
The JTTF-K is being funded by the Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism under the Counterterrorism Partnership Fund, which was established by Congress to build the law enforcement capacity of partner nations on the frontlines of terrorism.
“It is part of a comprehensive program with Kenya to promote terrorism investigations and prosecutions, enhance crisis response, and strengthen border security,” reads the statement.
The initiative to establish a Kenyan Joint Terrorism Task Force began after the al-Shabaab terrorist attack on the DusitD2 Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya on January 16, 2019.
