A newly constructed police station in Jubaland, Somalia, was handed over by the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Sunday.
The new police station, which was funded by the Danish government, is situated in Dhobley town of Jubaland State, a highly diverse autonomously controlled region in southern Somalia, and forms part of the Somalia Transition Plan.
The Danish government funded the construction of the police station under AMISOM’s Quick Impacts projects, the aim of which is to improve security in the region through community policing. AMISOM’s police component will train the Somali Police Force in this space, in addition to Jubaland police mentorship programmes.
Brigadier Paul Njema, AMISOM commander of Sector 2, led the handover ceremony and spoke on behalf of ambassador Francisco Madeira, the special representative of the chairperson of the AU Commission (SRCC) for Somalia and head of AMISOM.
Njema said: “We want to say, Dhobley continues to be secure, it has grown to a very big town and, of course, when towns grow they come with challenges.”
He said the station was part of the solution to these challenges and that other basic infrastructure needed to be put in place as well, to ensure the community’s safety and security in Dhobley.
The continued growth of Dhobley has cemented a need for two more police stations, according to Major Mohamed Abdi Dahiye, the Dhobley police commander.
The new police station is the second to be constructed this year with AMISOM’s involvement, with the first being completed on February 17.
The region continues to implement the Somalia Transition Plan after it was endorsed by the African Union Peace and Security Council in April 2018. The plan is an agreed-upon guide to transfer security responsibility from AMISOM to the Somali Police Force, as AMISOM anticipates leaving Somalia by 2021, according to the Mail & Guardian.
African News Agency
