By Innocent Vuga 

IOM Uganda and her partners recently completed a four-week training of 11 immigration officers in maritime operational skills.  

Funded by the Government of Japan, the training was organized by IOM’s Immigration and Border Management (IBM) unit, together with the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC). Expert instructors from the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) facilitated the training at Jinja Club. 

The trainees came from Entebbe, Ntoroko, Elegu, Sebagoro, Butyaba and Moroto border stations.  

This was the first in a series of trainings on maritime border security, under IOM’s project titled: “Reduce Transnational Security Threats While Increasing Border Security and Regular Migration in Uganda” funded by the Government of Japan.  

The project is supporting the Government to improve the legal framework and procedures for regular migration, while addressing irregular migration through enhanced maritime patrol capacities over Lake Albert. 

Immigration officers were upskilled in leadership, swimming, water navigation and survival tactics, maritime operations and investigations, plus use of weapons to instill confidence and readiness (skill at Arms). All trainees excelled with an average performance of 80 per cent.  

Speaking at the closure of the training, the head of the IBM unit at IOM, Mr Olivier Baguma Balagizi, announced more support to DCIC, with funding from the Government of Japan. IOM would soon hand over a six-passenger engine boat with an inbuilt very high frequency (VHF) radio. This boat will be used for open water training in the second phase, but also help in Lake patrolling and rescue operations. Balagizi thanked the Government of Japan for their continued support towards strengthening border management, and Government of Uganda, particularly the DCIC and UPDF, for their collaboration.  

Similarly, Mr Emmanuel Okanya, who represented the Director of DCIC, thanked IOM for organizing a training that has “improved skills and attitude” of immigration officers.  

Over the years, IOM, the Government of Japan, and other development partners, have been supporting the Government to address diverse immigration and border management challenges. This contributes to the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10.7 that calls for facilitation of safe, orderly and responsible migration and mobility of people. It is also in line with objective 11 of the Global Compact for Migration (GCM), on management of borders in an integrated, secure, and coordinated manner.  

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For Media enquiries, please contact IOM Uganda Public Information Officer, Richard M Kavuma, by email:  Ugandapiu@iom.int   or telephone: +256 772 709 917  

The in-charge training DCIC, Ms Josephine Akello, addresses trainees.