Guns exposé an abuse of media freedom, says DCI's George Kinoti
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti during a press conference in Nairobi on April 20, 2021.
What you need to know:
- DCI boss George Kinoti claimed the security sector was not reached for comment, that "very high" security protocols were breached and that focus was entirely on the confessions of criminals.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Tuesday addressed a damning exposé on firearms, saying the reporting was inaccurate, sensational and aimed at humiliating the National Police Service (NPS).
In the exposé, Citizen TV's Purity Mwambia and her crew showed how they were able to procure a pistol, AK 47 rifle, a pair of handcuffs and police uniforms from alleged police officers through criminal middlemen.
DCI boss George Kinoti claimed the security sector was not reached for comment, that "very high" security protocols were breached and that focus was entirely on the confessions of criminals.
He also said the reporting amounted to abuse of media freedom.
"None of the weapons belong to NPS officers. All our weapons are serialised in a particular manner. These ones do not belong to us. I have never seen such a pistol issued to an officer in all the 20 years I have been in the service," he said, referring to weapons surrendered by Royal Media Services (RMS) after the "Guns Galore” exposé.
One of the weapons surrendered to the DCI by Citizen TV, following an exposé on illegal weapons, as pictured during a press conference by DCI boss George Kinoti on April 20, 2021.
Letter of surrender
Mr Kinoti further said it was criminal for the Citizen TV reporter to hold the weapons she used in her investigative piece for the entire period before surrendering them to the police service.
He said he had asked RMS Editorial Director Joe Ageyo, and Strategy and Innovation Director Linus Kaikai to provide more details on the pistol and AK 47 rifle, saying the RMS letter of surrender lacked the serial numbers, which would have proven that they belonged to the service.
“Any misuse of a single weapon is cause for alarm because we don’t know how many crimes the weapons have been used in. If you tell us you got them from the police, which officer was it, so that we take action. The way the story was aired was sensationalized [and] against the entire police force.”
Some of items which were surrendered to the DCI by Citizen TV, following an exposé on illegal weapons, as pictured during a press conference by DCI boss George Kinoti on April 20, 2021.
The DCI boss instead linked the firearms and handcuffs that the reporter managed to procure for her story to civilians and cattle rustlers.
“The ammunition procured by RMS can be gotten from licensed firearm holders or criminals. Every police station or division has a firearm register and a daily movement register of the weapons,” he explained.
“Those that get lost are investigated.”
Mr Kinoti acknowledged that some of our bad elements collaborate with criminals” and noted that misuse of a single weapon is cause for alarm.
