Richard Moigbe
Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Sierra Leone
Reducing Divisive Effects of Competition, Elections
Election Security, Dispute Resolution
election violence, training, media relations, election security
Nealin Parker
Sierra Leone
Police Headquarters,
Murray Town,
Sierra Leone
Mon Aug 4 2008
Abstract
Assistant Inspector-General of Police Richard Moigbe discusses policing and security provisions during the 2008 national local government elections in Sierra Leone. According to the constitution and legislation, the police were responsible for internal security and all public elections. Moigbe explains the process of setting up the Elections Security and Policing Coordinating Secretariat, which was made up of police officers, in preparation for the 2008 elections. He describes how the police service identified stakeholders and partners such as the United Nations, civil society and the electoral commission and developed a functional relationship with them. He discusses strategies, developed with the secretariat staff, which were related to resources to support the entire operation, police training, community engagement including the media, working with the international community and establishing an election-specific investigations service that dealt with election complaints. He also points out the police efforts in establishing a professional conflict-resolution mechanism to help the overworked court system to resolve minor offenses.
Full Profile
At the time of this interview, Richard Moigbe was the assistant inspector-general of police in Sierra Leone. His responsibilities were to develop operational policies, coordinate the work of all police commanders, and provide strategic leadership. Moigbe joined the police force in 1987 as a cadet officer. Later, he worked with the anti-smuggling squad, the forgery and fraud squad, the operations department that dealt with robberies and burglaries and with homicide. He served as a commandant of the police training school. He was in charge of the research and planning department and the special investigations bureau at the police headquarters. Moigbe set up the Complaint Discipline and Internal Investigation Department and the Crimes Services Department that integrated the Criminal Investigations Department, the Special Branch and other police intelligence operations.
