NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 — A detective attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit (AHTCPU), was on Tuesday awarded for his role in the protection of vulnerable and exploited children.
The DCI said in a statement Wednesday that International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children awarded detective Lawrence Okoth during a ceremony for child protection held in Manhattan, New York City.
“Detective Okoth received the Everyday Hero Award that was also awarded to two other exceptional police officers, one from India and the other from Guatemala, whose outstanding performance in handling matters affecting children and safeguarding their rights stood out across the world,” the DCI said.
The agency said that Okoth, a certified digital forensic investigator, was awarded for his role in helping bring to justice pedophile suspects.
During the ceremony, Chief Executive Officer of the International Centre for Missing Children, Bob Cunningham, lauded detective Okoth for a job well done and for being a frontline defender of children’s rights.
Also awarded with a lifetime achievement award was U.S Senator Ron Wyden, who has represented Oregon in the U.S Congress for the past 26 years, and sponsored hundreds of bills in support of child protection.
“The organization has for the past 20 years worked with over 120countries from across the world in protecting children from exploitation through empowering law enforcement agencies with the tools and the training to make the world safer for children. This year alone, over 1, 600 missing children have been rescued courtesy of the organization,” said the DCI.
