Highlights from the FBI Anti-Corruption Course

Published March 15, 2017

The RTC believes that one of the ways to improve international security is to combat violent extremism. Last month, The RTC hosted the FBI for a countering violent extremism course with the focus on Anti-corruption. Let’s take a look at the main activities that featured during the training period.

RTC local staff

The opening ceremony was graced with the presence of the FBI Legal Attaché at the US Embassy Ghana. Kudos to Matthew, Javier, Jeffrey and John - the experienced FBI instructor team who flawlessly delivered the course in a unique way based on their area of expertise.  It was an awesome class made up of students from Ghana, Togo, Cote D’Ivoire and Benin. Although the number of Francophones outweighed that of the Anglophones, the language difference posed no issue at all. It was exciting to listen to the depth of knowledge that was shared through interactive classroom discussions and country led presentations on public corruption cases. The diversified opinions, constructive contributions and active classroom participation made the teaching and learning very practical and applicable.  It was an educational and informative week where students learned specific techniques used in public corruption investigation from initiation to prosecution.

Participants from Ivory Coast working together on a case study during the CVE -Anti-Corruption

I bet participants will always remember Wednesday international food day at the RTC when they were served with a variety of international meals based on their country’s specialty. A lovely dinner reception took place on Thursday evening with all participants and instructors attending. The beautiful night saw various dance moves and other hidden talents from instructors and participants alike. The celebration was crowned with the famous francophone song (Miss lolo) by Freddie Meiway which got everyone up on their feet doing their final boogie before the night came to an end. The fun and excitement experienced was simply unforgettable.

The energy from the night before always affects Graduation Friday in a very positive manner.   Participants were in high spirits as they exchanged contacts and shared personal information with each other. Friday came early for most of them as they openly expressed how they wished they could have stayed longer for further training. After graduation, participants toddled away slowly with lingering memories of the networking that had been built over such a short period training.

Stay tuned for more updates on upcoming events at the RTC.