The FBI director Christopher Asher Wray concluded his trip to Kenya Wednesday after a series of meetings with top security officials.
He arrived Saturday, June 8, for a five-day trip which drew speculation.
When he arrived, there were speculations on his mission here even as officials termed it a boost to the country.
But when asked about the mission, Wray said he was simply visiting a great partner in various areas to enhance operations for general stability in the region.
“We have a great partner in Kenya and that is why we are here to enhance our partnership. Part of the mission of our visit is to say thank you for the cooperation and collaboration,” he said.
Security officials termed the visit historic given Wray and his team spent five days in Nairobi holding meetings and visiting various places.
Among the places Wray visited included the Nairobi National Park, Dusit D2 Complex and several malls.
He was at the DusitD2 Complex to witness the impact of terrorism in the country following the January 16, 2019 terror attack that left 22 civilians and five terrorists dead.
Among others, Wray held separate meetings with National Intelligence Service Director General Noordin Haji, Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin, Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission CEO Twalib Mbarak and Director of Public Prosecution Mulele Ingonga.
The officials said Wray with his team discussed with the security chiefs areas of cooperation between the institutions.
Cyber crimes, terrorism and corruption topped the agenda of the meetings.
Journalists were allowed to shoot questions to him at the DCI headquarters where he had visited for the talks and planted a tree.
Amin said the visit by the FBI boss and his team was a testimony of the seriousness the US government has in the region at large.
He said the FBI has been leading in training and kitting DCI personnel in many areas to enhance their capacity in the war on crime.
“The visit is a plus to the country and we are grateful for all they continue to do. We learn much through such joint sessions,” he said.
Wray said they will continue to cooperate with Kenyan institutions in training and tooling for the security of the country and region at large.
The FBI has been tooling the DCI and other agencies and also offering specialized training to detectives.
This month, Wray said, a team of over a dozen Kenyan investigators will begin undercover training at the FBI Academy in Virginia.
He said he came to Kenya to say ‘thank you’ for the outstanding collaboration and cooperation they have with the FBI.
“Part of the reason for my visit is to say thank you for that outstanding collaboration with the DCI and other agencies we work with in Kenya,” he said.
Wray said the FBI’s move to launch the Joint Terrorism Taskforce (JTTF) with Kenya is a lynchpin in the fight against terrorism.
“We are working with partners here in Kenya to provide cutting-edge tools so that they can get those tools in the hands of investigators on the ground and identify the threats and stay ahead of those threats,” he said.
“We have been working with partners at the DCI to bring together partners in and around this region to talk about threats we are all seeing to share lessons learnt and share new ways to work together to combat terrorism threats and coming over the horizon.”
The FBI legal attaché program has placed FBI personnel at the US embassy in Nairobi including a special agent bomb technician, a member of the FBI’s counterterrorism fly team, and a Hostage Rescue Team operator embedded on a permanent rotating basis.
Wray spent time with the officials at the institutions to listen to where the FBI needs to put more attention in efforts to combat emerging threats.
EACC said they have a long-standing history of collaboration with the FBI stretching back to 2001.
Through close cooperation, EACC investigators have benefited from various specialized training on undercover operations, tradecraft and modern techniques in the investigation of complex financial, and economic crimes, corruption cases and recovery of corruptly acquired and unexplained wealth.
During the meeting, Wray discussed with the EACC CEO various collaboration initiatives for effective modern law enforcement.
The discussions focused on enhancing partnerships between the FBI and EACC to counter transnational corruption and economic crimes.
There was a resolve by the FBI to enhance its support to the commission through training and acquisition of modern investigative tools and equipment.
The meeting also explored ways of leveraging the exchange of information to support the tracing and recovery of corruptly acquired assets stashed abroad.
Mbarak said the visit marks a major milestone as they seek to deepen their partnership and explore areas of cooperation.
“With technical support from the FBI, the Commission will have a greater impact in investigating high-impact cases and robustly pursue recovery of corruptly acquired assets and unexplained wealth,” Mbarak.
The visit comes days after President William Ruto visited the US for days and met his host Joe Biden.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency.
It enforces federal law and investigates a variety of criminal activity including terrorism, cybercrime, white-collar crimes, public corruption, civil rights violations, and other major crimes.
