Professional Exchange at ILEA Gaborone

Published July 30, 2019

Last month, the RTC team visited the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone, Botswana for a professional exchange program to establish partnership with ILEA staff. ILEA Directors Joseph Augeri and Maseng Mathiba officially welcomed the RTC staff during the opening of the week’s courses delivered by instructors from the Department of Homeland Security – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). The training coordinator led a tour of the ILEA and provided the RTC staff with an overview of the week’s activities.

The RTC’s visit coincided with a high impact week, where ILEA welcomed high level guests from Zambia and South Africa. ILEA also hosted a total of 77 delegates representing 14 Sub-Saharan African nations. The President of Rwanda - His Excellency Paul Kagame was also present. This was a great learning experience for the RTC team. We were offered a unique opportunity to observe ILEA’s operations and share ideas in a collaborative space.

It was also exciting to interact with ILEA alumni who had previously been through training at the RTC. The positive energy and feedback they shared demonstrated that we are all connected with a responsibility to keep networking as one big alumni community.

Gaborone is a beautiful city which offers amazing attractions for adventure and wildlife. ILEA’s Wednesday social event was a vibrant combination of African culture merged with modern western lifestyle. The bonfire set up with traditional music and dancing, coupled with the game drive, provided a wonderful atmosphere for professional networking. We were privileged to attend a second reception at the US Ambassador’s residence, which opened a new chapter for collaboration and communication. The US Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) encouraged participants to lean forward to anticipate threats and constantly seek new opportunities to make the region and the world a safer place.

On Friday, ILEA Directors congratulated participants during the graduation ceremony and expressed appreciation to them for bringing credit to their respective agencies through their presence and participation. Participants celebrated the great success of the ILEA program and expressed their desire to remain engaged with the ILEA program.

We are thankful to ILEA Gaborone’s leadership for hosting us. We hope to build on our existing partnership and further develop innovative ways to improve upon RTC operations.

Published by