Kofi Ampeah Woode
The Commandant of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) – Major General (Maj Gen) Richard Addo Gyane, has paid a courtesy call on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Sierra Leone – Mr William Fayia Sellu, as part of preparations by the Centre to provide needed assistance to the West African country, towards peaceful and credible elections in June 24 2023.
The IGP hosted his guest at his George Street office at the Police Headquarters, Freetown, on Tuesday April 11, 2023, prior to the commencement of a mobile training programme on electoral violence; Election Violence and Security Course (EVSC), for the country’s police Commanders.
Introducing KAIPTC to the IGP, General Gyane said, KAIPTC lobbies acclaimed bodies such as the United Nations (UN), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and other international organisations for funding and sponsorship, so as to enable the Centre embark on various professional training for security officers in the West African subregion.
Having served as a member of the Ghanaian Battalion in Sierra Leone, in the early years of the country’s conflict, General Gyane stated that the objective of the EVSC is to enhance professional policing output from Police Officers, and that the training would help to build up capabilities of security officers, to handle ethical issues during the electioneering process.
The IGP, Mr Sellu said, the support from KAIPTC and other partners to equip his personnel with knowledge, have placed them in a good stead to effectively and efficiently deliver professional policing service to the people of Sierra Leone before, during and after the elections.
He went on to say that the EVSC will serve as an advance course to one recently ran by the United States’ State Department, to equip the Sierra Leonean Police for the June elections. He stated that series of trainings, including training of trainers’ courses on election management, have already been conducted for the vast majority of his Police Officers in all police jurisdictions across the country.
In a related matter, the Commandant also paid a courtesy call on Ghana’s High Commissioner to Sierra Leone – Her Excellency (HE) Woryonyo Agyeman, to announce the presence of KAIPTC, and its agenda in the country.
