Mr Elema Halake, SS is The Director, IPOA and Chief Executive Officer. He is Secretary to the Board and holds a Masters of Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies, a Diploma in Wildlife Management, an Advanced Diploma in Social Work and a postgraduate Diploma Certificate in criminal justice by the Virginia University, USA. His Public Service career spans over 28 years including at Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), where he was a Senior Assistant Director and also sat on the Board of the Kenya School of Leadership and Adventure at Mt. Kenya. At KWS, he was part of the leadership which fronted the 1990’s anti-poaching strategy that stabilized wildlife conservation, enhanced security and management.
Earlier, as IPOA’s Director of Investigations, Mr Halake initiated a series of administrative and operational reforms, expanded the investigation capacity, enhanced performance and contributed towards decentralised regional operations. At Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA), he spearheaded legal and regulatory reforms including the enactment of the Anti-Counterfeit Act 2018, developed and deployed the AIMS project (Anti-Counterfeit Information Management system) and launched a National baseline survey on the magnitude of counterfeiting and illicit trade in Kenya. Mr. Halake continues to be an invaluable focal point for the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) South-Africa, Interpol, Lusaka Agreement Taskforce, Cross border security collaboration framework with sister agencies, National Multi-agency against illicit trade and host of other sister local law enforcement agencies.
In various capacities he has represented Kenya as part of delegations to various National, Regional and International conferences and fora including CITES, Trade negotiations Agreements (FTA’s), Lusaka Agreement, East Africa’s Cross Border Environmental forums besides the National Collaborations and Cooperation with key State and non-state actors and development partners.These efforts have seen him gain global exposure having travelled for work, training and conferences in Africa, Europe, the USA, Brazil, parts of Asia and Israel among others. His integrity and high-performance track record in Public Service saw him recognized and decorated with the Silver Star (SS) of Kenya by his Excellency, the President of the Republic of Kenya in 2006, with citation for courage and commitment to duty.
