The Police component of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) today handed over an assortment of critical office equipment to the Somali Police Force.
The equipment donated by the Danish government was officially handed over to General Ahmed Hassan Malin, the commander of the Banadir Police Station in Mogadishu, by the AMISOM Deputy Police Commissioner Ms. Christine Alalo.
“We have a mandate here in Somalia and our mandate is to build the capacity of the Somali police forces. This is in terms of training, mentoring, operational support; you see the Formed Police Unit (FPU) that undertake day and night patrols. We also do strategic advising, but most of all, we are supposed to support them in terms of logistics and equipment, (and) to equip the police stations,” Ms. Alalo explained, as she handed over the equipment to her counterpart.
The equipment which included office furniture; desktop computers, printers, folding chairs, tables, cabinets, solar torches and solar lamps, will be distributed to various police stations in Mogadishu.
General Ahmed Hassan Malin said the consignment will go along way in facilitating the work of police officers, to maintain law and order.
“We are grateful for the donation brought to us by our brothers at AMISOM Police. We will distribute them to four police stations in Banadir and I know they will enhance greatly our operations,” Gen. Malin stated.
“The cabinets will be used for storing documents and the solar torches for night patrols,” he added.
The Head of Logistics of the Somali Police Force, General Omar Mohamed Hassan lauded AMISOM Police and the Danish government for the donation.
“This equipment simplifies our work. Instead of using fuel for lighting, we will use solar. There will be no more typewriters, as the officers will now use computers,” he noted.
AMISOM Police skills and mentors Somali police officers to effectively maintain law and order across the country.
They also train them on the consequences of sexual and gender-based violence, human rights observance and protection in conflict and post- conflict environments, community policing, traffic management and basic criminal investigation techniques, which are critical areas in the maintenance of law and order.
