Police operations yesterday received a boost when President Uhuru Kenyatta unveiled 500 new assorted vehicles.
The vehicles, which were acquired through the Government’s leasing programme, include 25 Mine Resistant Personnel Carriers and 30 Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) to be deployed to border regions affected by terror attacks.
The APCs have been deployed to hotspots in North Eastern, Lamu and West Pokot regions.
Some 150 personnel have been trained in operating the APCs that were procured from China. Thirty of these were trained in China and 117 in Kenya.
The President described the launch as a big milestone in the Government’s efforts to enhance the police mobility and modernisation programme.
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“This is a big milestone in ensuring police mobility and safety in their duties,” he said at Uhuru Park before flagging off the vehicles - which also included 350 pick-ups, 100 lorries and 50 saloon cars - to various stations.
Uhuru said the launch brought to 5,875, the number of vehicles so far acquired under the leasing programme.
The APCs have a one-year warranty from the Chinese manufacturers and a technical team of mechanics are in Kenya supervising the maintenance, usage and general performance.
VARIOUS COMPANIES
The 500 vehicles were leased from various companies that will be responsible for servicing and maintaining them.
The President said when Jubilee came to power in 2013, there were 3,155 assorted vehicles and most of them were in poor condition, a situation that exposed the security services to many dangers.
He said yesterday’s launch of 500 vehicles comprised the third batch. In the first batch, 1,200 vehicles were commissioned followed by 100 in the second phase. The 500 vehicles will be distributed to all the agencies in the police service.
Uhuru said the Government would continue to acquire more equipment for security services in the country. He said in 2013, the police had one serviceable helicopter but the fleet had since increased to three and they intended to make it seven by July this year.
The Government has been leasing vehicles since 2013 in an effort to cut costs.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery, Treasury CS Henry Rotich, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet, his deputies Joel Kitili and Samuel Arachi, Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Ndegwa Muhoro, National Police Service Commission chairman Johnstone Kavuludi were among high-level Government officials that attended the event.
More equipment expected to arrive includes guns, bullet-proof vests and night vision goggles.
The need for police reforms was reinforced by recommendations made by the Waki Commission of Inquiry into the 2007 post-election violence.
It was prompted by the need for police officers to be equipped to combat insecurity and other forms of emerging security problems occasioned by national and international threats like terrorism, piracy, organised gangs, drug and human trafficking, industrial espionage, cyber crime, money laundering and economic crimes.
GROUND FORCES
The national police – both regular and Administration Police Airwing – currently has 14 aircraft that provide support to ground forces, including tactical reconnaissance, night reconnaissance, air observation and casualty evacuation, especially in remote areas.
The police department is also undergoing modernisation with a new command, control and communication centre at Jogoo House, with 1,800 cameras installed in major places in Nairobi and Mombasa.
New pocket phones linked to the control centre have been rolled out and are already in use.
More than 3,000 officers have been trained in the new technology.
