On 7 August, Arusha played host to an international symposium at the Mount Meru Hotel, aimed at exploring: judicial independence, integrity and ethics in the fight against international and transnational crime; case studies on the role of the judiciary in addressing human trafficking and corruption; and the relationship between domestic, regional, and international courts in combatting serious crimes. The symposium was followed by a one-day retreat on 8 August, attended by fifteen judges from national, regional, and international courts.

Over a three-day period from 20 to 22 November 2017, Kigali, Rwanda, played host to the latest in the Wayamo Foundation’s series of East African international justice conferences aimed at exploring the current state of international criminal justice, its links with transnational organised crime, and national and regional efforts to deal with these crimes. The event was held thanks to the unstinting collaboration of the Rwandan Ministry of Justice and the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office.

In February and March of this year, the Wayamo Foundation concluded a series of five key events (two meetings and three activities) in so many days in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of its “Fighting Impunity in East Africa” project, an initiative funded by the German Foreign Ministry. The stated objectives of the Symposium were to discuss the status of international criminal justice, analyse transnational organised crimes, and explore the linkages between the two sets of crimes.

On 13 April, Wayamo Foundation Director Bettina Ambach and Deputy Director Mark Kersten participated in the third annual Joan Kagezi Memorial Lecture on the theme of “Combating International and Transnational Organised Crime: Lessons Learnt and Best Practices”. The Wayamo Foundation had the privilege of co-organising the event with its partners in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The event celebrated the life of Joan Kagezi, a senior prosecutor in Uganda’s International Crimes Division, who was assassinated in March 2015.