State deploys 10,000 security officers countrywide ahead of festive season
Anti-riot police officers on horseback patrol the streets of Nairobi suring the swearing-in of Kithure Kindiki as the eputy President on November 1, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Government sets up multi-agency national command centre with dedicated personnel from all security agencies at Lang’ata Barracks.
- More traffic control officers will be deployed on the roads to address reckless driving, overloaded vehicles and unlicensed vehicles.
Some 10,317 officers from Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), National Police Service (NPS), Kenya Prisons Service, Kenya Wildlife Service and the Kenya Forestry Service have been deployed across the country to ensure public safety during the festive season.
Additionally, there will be no Christmas break for police officers with those on leave being ordered back to their workstations to combat crime during Christmas and New Year holidays.
There will also be enhanced security coverage at entry and exit points to the country, hotels, shopping malls, public beaches and tourist sites as well as critical infrastructure installations and Central Business Districts in major urban centres. This will also be the case in places of worship and entertainment venues.
More traffic control officers will be deployed on the roads to address reckless driving, overloaded vehicles and unlicensed vehicles and ensure free flow of traffic.
These are but some of the measures being implemented by the government across the country to safeguard the lives, properties and livelihood of Kenyans during the festive season that is often marked by increased cases of crime and road accidents as more people tend to travel and shop heavily to mark the close of the year.
Speaking from the Interior Ministry headquarters domiciled at the Office of the President in Nairobi, Internal Security and National Administration Principal Secretary, Raymond Omollo said that a multi-agency national command centre with dedicated personnel from all security agencies has also been set up at the Lang’ata Barracks.
This Centre will be supported by regional and county security and intelligence committees that will also set up their own multi-agency command centres that will be operating on 24-hour basis seven days a week.
“Kenyans should expect to see more police presence and visibility, because we have deployed more specialised units including the all-female Special Weapons and Tactics Unit and undercover officers alongside general duty police to intensify patrol and surveillance in major towns,” PS Omollo said.
The NPS has also been instructed to develop festive season operation orders to coordinate security operations across all counties as well as work with the National Transport and Safety Authority to enforce compliance of traffic rules by motorists.
According to the 2024 Economy Survey, at least 4,324 people lost their lives on Kenyan roads in 2023, a figure that reduced significantly from 4,690 deaths recorded in 2022. The NTSA placed the number of injuries from road accidents in the country at over 10,000 during the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in November.
The Authority noted that road crashes in the country had claimed the lives of 4,047 lives beginning January to November this year, an increase of 321 compared to the same period in 2023. It is this worrying trend that the Interior Ministry wants to curtail during the festive season.
Border control agencies have been directed to secure security at all exit and entry points and ensure smooth movement of passengers.
“All Regional and County Security Committees in liaison with the NPS and KWS to put in place measures to ensure the safety of local and international tourists visiting resort facilities at Coastal Sea Resorts and inland tourist attraction sites, National Parks and Game Reserves,” Dr Omollo said.
Security committees have also been ordered to put in place robust measures to prevent and manage inter communal conflicts during the festive season.
These same committees have also been tasked with the duty of implementing strategies to safeguard against terrorism activities and effectively implement prevention of violent extremism in line with the County Action Plans.
Police will also be working with the National Alcohol Control Committee to activate crackdowns nationwide on drugs and illicit brews.
PS Omollo then clarified that the KDF, which can only operate on Kenyan soil under very rare circumstances and upon approval by Parliament, will offer support to the regional and county security and intelligence committees by providing logistical and Air Assets where required.
