Senior security officials to meet over ongoing crackdown

By Cyrus Ombati

Nairobi, Kenya: Senior police officers in Nairobi will Wednesday meet to review their operations, especially on illegal immigrants, refugees, violent crimes and other issues on insecurity.

The meeting was summoned by Nairobi County Police Commander Benson Kibue to also strategise on how to sustain the operations.

He said they intend to continue with the operations because they are bearing fruits. “We have recorded a significant drop in crime generally in Nairobi and we attribute it to the Operation Usalama Watch which we shall sustain across all estates,” he said.

He confirmed he intends to meet all OCPDs, AP commanders and CID officers in his office to review their operations.

The meeting will be used to check loopholes in the exercise and re-strategise. It comes as police continue to conduct operations on five major estates.

Outside gazetted areas

Officers are targeting individuals who are in the country illegally, those outside the precincts of legally gazetted areas and those with unauthenticated documents.

The Government says the operation targets all illegal aliens, prosecution of persons suspected of engaging in terrorist activities, identifying places harbouring criminals and containing and preventing general acts of crime and lawlessness.

Officials are paying attention to documents the suspects produce to justify their nationality which include IDs, passports, visas, work permits and refugee cards.

At Safaricom Stadium, Kasarani, they are registered and asked to present their documents. Officials from the national registration bureau, department of immigration, department of refugee affairs, military and anti-terror police unit are involved.

The meeting also comes as some leaders protest the exercise saying it is discriminatory.

More illegal immigrants are slated for deportation this week as the Government intensified its operations during the Easter holidays.

Officials said more than 100 have been lined up for deportation after their arrest at the weekend. More than 200 others will be taken to refugee camps after it was established they were out of the gazetted areas.

Those scheduled for deportation are held at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Railway Police Station while the refugees are at the Kasarani and Gigiri police stations.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku said some 281 refugees have so far been taken back to their camps from Nairobi since Thursday. The first group of 111 refugees was transported out of the Safaricom Stadium, Kasarani, on Thursday evening in four buses to the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps.

The second group comprising 170 refugees left Nairobi on Friday evening in six buses.