STORY: AMISOM commences review of its Boards of

Inquiry standard operating procedures

DURATION: 5:21
SOURCE: AMISOM PUBLIC INFORMATION
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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 27/NOVEMBER/2019, MOGADISHU, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:

1. Wide shot, Officials from AMISOM and African Union Headquarters gathers
for a meeting on review and harmonization of existing standard operating
procedures (SOPs) for Boards of Inquiry
2. Med shot, AMISOM Legal Officer, Dr. Henry Nampandu moderating the
meeting
3. Wide shot, AMISOM officers from the police and military component
listening during the meeting
4. Mid shots, AU officials from Addis Ababa listening during the meeting
5. Med shot, AMISOM Legal Officer, Dr. Henry Nampandu, inviting AMISOM
Deputy Force Commander in charge of Operations and Plans, Maj. Gen.
Nakibus Lakara, to give his opening remarks
6. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) MAJ. GEN. NAKIBUS LAKARA, AMISOM DEPUTY
FORCE COMMANDER IN CHARGE OF OPERATIONS AND PLANS
“During the course of AMISOM operations, it has been noted that the
constitution and management of the Boards of Inquiry in general at the
sectors, force, mission and police headquarters have been faced with various
challenges which include, administrative processing delays and application of
different SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). It is against this backdrop
therefore that this review and harmonisation workshop is taking place in
order to develop relevant and all-encompassing SOPs.”
7. Med shot, AMISOM officials listening during the meeting
8. Wide shot, AMISOM officials listening during the meeting
9. Med shot, AMISOM officials listening during the meeting
10. Med shot, AMISOM military officers listening during the meeting
11. Med shot, AMISOM Legal Officer, Dr. Henry Nampandu, inviting the head of
the delegation from the African Union, Dr. Achamyelesh Debela to give her
remarks
12. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) ACHAMYELESH DEBELA, AFRICAN UNION MEDICAL
PLANNER
“In the context of African Union Peace Support Operations (PSOs), which is
multidimensional, integrated mission composed of civilian, military and
 police component and is also complex and highly interventional and has
many varieties of different nature incidents and occurrences, it is very
important to put all the lessons learnt, challenges, gaps, and achievements
together in order to review the existing standard operating procedure
regarding the Board of Inquiry.”

13. Wide shot, AMISOM officials attending the meeting

14. Med shot, AMISOM military officers listening during the meeting
15. Close up shot, AMISOM military officer listening during the meeting
16. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) HENRY NAMPANDU, AMISOM LEGAL OFFICER
“We are here to work on reviewing and harmonizing AMISOM Boards of
inquiry provisions. This is what we call the standard operating procedures
(SOPs) for running the Boards of Inquiry. Boards of Inquiry are administrative
managerial tools which we use to investigate serious incidents that happen in
the mission and we use them to establish facts and circumstances under
which certain events happened. This is usually for events which are harmful
to individuals be it Somali citizens or to our own staff.”

17. Med shot, AMISOM officials attending the meeting

18. Med shot, AMISOM officials listening during the meeting
19. Close up shot, AMISOM military officer listening during the meeting
20. Med shot, AMISOM Police officers listening during the meeting
21. Close up shot, UN official listening during the meeting
22. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) BRENDA SINDIMBA, AMISOM BOARD OF INQUIRY
OFFICER
“I am here to outline the procedures of the Board of inquiry in the police
component and also to bring out the things that are lacking or some gaps
that are there in our in our SOPs for the Board of Inquiry. At the end of the
workshop my expectations are that the things that are missing or maybe that
are lacking will be captured and covered as the SOP is being harmonized.”

23. Wide shot, AMISOM officials attending the meeting

24. Close up shot, AMISOM official listening during the meeting
25. Med shot, AMISOM military officers listening during the meeting
26. SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) EMMY EKYARUHANGA, AMISOM BOARD OF
INQUIRY OFFICER
“We are here today attending a workshop on the consolidation and
harmonization and review of the Board of Inquiry SOPs which we believe are
scattered and organized into many others, but we feel they should be
harmonized and become one document.”
27. Wide shot, AMISOM officials getting up after the meeting

AMISOM commences review of its Boards of Inquiry standard operating

procedures
Mogadishu, 28 June 2019 - The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) is
harmonising its Boards of Inquiry standard operating procedures (SOPs) to enhance
efficiency in investigating critical security incidents occurring in its areas of operation
to ensure appropriate compensation is made when required.

The review process will include all components mainly the military, police and civilian
units to guarantee that decisions made on critical incidents, involving AMISOM
personnel, are based on agreed standard operating procedures (SOPs).

“During the course of AMISOM operations, it has been noted that the constitution and
management of the boards of inquiry in general have been faced with various
challenges which include, administrative processing delays and application of
different SOPs,” said AMISOM Deputy Force Commander in charge of Operations and
Plans, Maj. Gen. Nakibus Lakara, at a consultative meeting held in Mogadishu,
yesterday.

“It is against this backdrop therefore, that this review and harmonisation workshop is
taking place in order to develop relevant and all-encompassing SOPs,” Maj. Gen.
Lakara added.

According to the United Nations, a Board of Inquiry is an analytical and managerial

tool to review investigation reports, establish facts related to critical security incidents
involving organisations of the United Nations Security Management System, including
whether the incident occurred as a result of the acts or omissions of any individual(s).

AMISOM’s legal officer, Dr. Henry Nampandu, said the workshop will help harmonise
the Mission’s compensation standards in accordance with the existing international
laws.

“The Boards of Inquiry are administrative managerial tools which we use to investigate
serious incidents that occur in the Mission, to establish facts and circumstances under
which such events, harmful to Somali citizens or our own staff, occur,” Dr. Nampandu
observed.

In the event of an incident that leads to the disability and/or death of personnel and
the loss or damage of Mission property or casualties of third parties and the loss of or
damage to their property, AMISOM is required to carry out a compensation process
through legal provisions encapsulated in the African Union legal and regulatory
frameworks.
African Union medical planner, Dr. Achamyelesh Debela, urged the leadership to
ensure the SOPs are harmonised, by taking into consideration lessons learned and
challenges faced by various components when investigating incidents and
compensating those affected.

“In the context of African Union peace support operations which is multi-dimensional,
composed of civilian, military and police and has many varieties of different nature
incidents and occurrences, it is very important to put all the lessons learnt, challenges,
gaps, and achievements together in order to review the existing standard operating
procedures regarding the Boards of Inquiry,” said Debela.

Her sentiments were echoed by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Brenda

Sindimba, an investigation/Board of Inquiry Officer, who noted that the workshop will
review the procedures applied, highlight the gaps and address inconsistencies.

“At the end of the workshop my expectations are that the things that are missing or
lacking will be captured and included in the harmonised standard operating
procedures,” said ASP Sindimba.

Maj. Emmy Ekyaruhanga, a Board of Inquiry officer at the Force Headquarters,

expressed confidence that the workshop will address and review anomalies and
inconsistencies in different SOPs applied by the different components of the Mission.

Apart from compensating its personnel, in 2016 AMISOM began a process of making
amends to civilians who suffer harm as a result of its operations in the country.

ENDS