The European Union (EU) has sought Kenya’s help in prosecuting maritime crime suspects in the region amid rising threats of piracy and attacks by Houthi rebels of Yemen.
According to Henriette Geiger, the EU Ambassador to Kenya, the bloc is poised to sign a legal agreement with Kenya, allowing the latter to prosecute suspected criminals caught in the region’s waters.
“Kenya would conclude a legal finished agreement with the European Union which would allow the EU Atalanta to drop, first seized arms, weapons but also traffickers, arms and drug traffickers, here for prosecution,” she said.
Geiger further disclosed that a similar agreement has already been signed with the Seychelles, “but it’s a small island; [which] cannot stand alone.”
The EU’s Operation Atalanta is a military operation in the Horn of Africa that counters piracy in the Indian Ocean.
However, the bloc is concerned that insecurity in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea is disrupting international trade, hence the need to engage Kenya’s services.
The EU naval force lacks the authority to prosecute or detain suspects for long without charges, necessitating help from countries like Kenya for prosecutions.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Kenya is currently holding at least 120 suspected pirates, 18 of whom have already been convicted.
In recent times, there have been reports of piracy attacks along the coast of Somalia, reigniting concerns about the resurgence of Somali piracy that was experienced in the early 2010s.
During that period, Somali pirates hijacked dozens of ships, holding them in the high seas for millions of dollars in ransom.
A fortnight ago, six men accused of attacking a merchant ship in the Indian Ocean were moved from Somalia to the Seychelles by the EU naval force for trial.
