NAIROBI, Kenya — Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga has held high-level bilateral talks with Andrew Bailey, the Deputy Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as Kenya and the United States moved to strengthen cooperation against transnational organised crime, terrorism, and illicit financial networks.
The meeting, held in Nairobi, brought together senior officials from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and representatives of the United States Department of Justice agencies.
Discussions focused on expanding operational partnerships, improving extradition and mutual legal assistance mechanisms, and strengthening coordinated responses to increasingly sophisticated cross-border criminal activities.
Speaking during the meeting, Ingonga said organised crime had evolved beyond national borders, requiring stronger international partnerships and coordinated legal responses.
“Crime today is no longer confined by geography. Criminal enterprises operate across jurisdictions, exploit emerging technologies, move illicit funds through formal financial systems, and leave behind complex evidentiary trails that demand coordinated international responses,” he said.
Ingonga said collaboration between Kenyan prosecutors and the U.S. justice system had significantly strengthened Kenya’s prosecutorial capacity, particularly in terrorism financing, narcotics trafficking, and international criminal investigations.
He singled out support from the U.S. Department of Justice, including programmes run through the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training and the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.
“The United States Department of Justice has remained a critical and dependable partner to the ODPP, the National Police Service, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and other criminal justice actors,” Ingonga said.
The DPP noted that recent legal reforms and institutional initiatives — including the launch of the ODPP Mutual Legal Assistance Guidelines and the Counter-Terrorism and Countering Financing of Terrorism prosecutorial curriculum — were aimed at improving Kenya’s ability to tackle emerging global criminal threats.
Bailey praised Kenya’s cooperation with U.S. agencies, describing the partnership as an effective model of international law enforcement collaboration.
“The partnership between Kenya and the United States has produced tangible results in addressing transnational organised crime, counter-terrorism and extradition matters,” Bailey said.
He commended the cooperation between the ODPP, the National Police Service, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, and U.S. justice agencies in disrupting criminal networks and pursuing fugitives.
“Kenya has demonstrated a strong commitment to international cooperation. Our shared work in disrupting criminal networks, pursuing fugitives, strengthening investigations, and advancing prosecutions continues to make an important contribution to regional and global security,” he said.
The talks also reviewed ongoing programmes jointly implemented by Kenyan and U.S. agencies, including anti-narcotics training, counter-terrorism financing workshops, cybercrime investigations, and forensic expert witness training.
Officials further discussed technical cooperation in areas such as cryptocurrency tracing, digital asset forfeiture, anti-money laundering investigations, and digital evidence management.
The meeting highlighted Kenya’s increasing role in regional security cooperation as authorities continue addressing threats linked to terrorism, cyber-enabled crime, illicit financial flows, and synthetic drug trafficking.
Both delegations agreed to deepen intelligence sharing, joint investigations, and regional anti-narcotics programmes as part of broader efforts to strengthen international criminal justice cooperation.
