Turkey training Ugandan police in riot management

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, John Kamya, the Ugandan national police’s commissioner for human resource development and training, said the country’s “field force personnel officers are being trained to build their capacity in different areas, based on the principles of riot control.”        

Turkish Special Forces trainers are conducting two courses over two weeks on the basics of riot control and techniques for using anti-riot equipment. 

“The first team of 40 officers will end their course on Friday [May 20] and another team of 40 will start on Monday [May 23], continuing until the end of next week,” Kamya said.        

Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding to provide advanced training to the Ugandan police back in 2014.        

“We have a good working relationship with the Turkish government and they have helped us in different respects. This is not the beginning and not the end,” Kamya added.  
     
Turkish Ambassador to Uganda Sedef Yavuzalp told state-run Anadolu Agency that there are 10 Turkish police officers here in the country for the course.    
   
Ugandan police spokesperson Fred Enanga told Anadolu Agency that the course was part of “advanced training.”

“We need to ensure that we have regular training courses on newly developing crimes, as there are new techniques that are used by criminals,” Enanga said.        

Since the training agreement was signed in 2014, the Ugandan police have gotten special training from Turkish police on special operations, maintaining public order, and traffic control.        

The training comes ahead of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Uganda from May 31 to June 1, the first stop on his two-nation visit to East Africa. After Uganda, Erdoğan will proceed to Kenya.    
   
During Erdoğan’s term as prime minister, Ankara declared 2005 the “Year of Africa,” with Turkey accorded observer status by the Africa Union and Ankara’s official policy of “opening to Africa” gaining new momentum.