At the Safari Park Hotel on the outskirts of Nairobi, intelligence agents from across Africa circle each other, nibbling on queen cakes and samosas and making small talk.

For years many of these agents spied on each other’s countries, and still do, but these days they spend a lot of time just talking to one another.

The threat of terrorism and the international reach of its masterminds are forcing intelligence agencies across the continent to share information and work more closely in their counter-terrorism operations.

The agents from 40 African countries were attending a meeting organised by the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (Cissa), a sort of annual general meeting of the continent’s top spies moderated by the director of Kenya’s National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Mr Isaac Ochieng.

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