This Tuesday in Rabat, Hicham Balaoui, president of the Public Prosecution Office, officially opened the permanent headquarters of the Association of African Prosecutors.

Balaoui, who also serves as the King’s Attorney General at the Court of Cassation and head of the Public Prosecution Office, was joined by Renson Ingonga, the Kenyan president of the association. Balaoui holds the position of secretary-general for the organisation.

During the ceremony, the two leaders signed an agreement finalising the transfer of the association’s headquarters from the Republic of Mozambique to the Kingdom of Morocco.

Attendees unanimously highlighted Morocco’s prominent standing on the African continent under the wise leadership of King Mohammed VI, as well as “the confidence placed in its judicial institutions by various African professional and judicial bodies.”

Participants included Mohamed Abdennabaoui, deputy president of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary; Abdelatif Amrani, the Kingdom’s treasurer general; and several other senior judicial officials.

The association stated that this meeting reflects Morocco’s ongoing commitment to strengthening African judicial cooperation and enhancing coordination mechanisms among judicial institutions across African nations.

In Rabat, members of the Executive Committee approved the association’s work agenda, reviewed proposed amendments to its statutes, and discussed the issue of annual membership fees.

In his opening speech, Hicham Balaoui emphasised “the importance of strengthening cooperation between different police services and African prosecution offices, as well as exchanging experiences and good practices in combating various forms of crime, especially transnational organised crime, corruption, human trafficking, and cybercrime.”

In conclusion, participants praised the leading role of the Association of African Prosecutors in fostering professional cooperation among its members. They stressed the significance of this body as an institutional platform for dialogue, coordination, and joint action to address challenges related to criminal justice on the continent.

With the establishment of the permanent headquarters of the Association of African Prosecutors in Rabat, Morocco solidifies its role in continental judicial cooperation. This inauguration also gives new institutional momentum to exchanges among African prosecution offices in a context marked by the rise of transnational forms of crime.