NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 22- Kenya’s war on terrorism received a major boost on Tuesday, after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Anti-Terror Police Unit received 18 motorcycles from the Government of Germany.
Of those, four are the latest model of BMW motorcycles, while the rest are Kibo K150- all locally assembled.
The motorcycles are set to be deployed in hotspot areas of the country and more so in the regions prone to terror attacks of Northern and Coastal Kenya.
They are worth Sh14.5 million, in the latest assistance by the German Government to the DCI.
Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti who received the motorcycles from the German Ambassador to Kenya Annett Guenther said other than the ATPU tactical team; they will also be issued to other specialised units.
“We continue to acquire the best fighting tools in the changing trends of crime and terrorism,” DCI Kinoti said during the receiving ceremony held at the DCI headquarters.
He said the motorcycles will enable the ATPU and other specialized units to respond to incidents within a record short time, in any part of Nairobi.
“We can now respond in the most efficient manner as per the global standards to any security incident within Nairobi,” he said.
Previous research has shown that a faster response time increases the likelihood of clearing the crime.
It is a gap that was evident during the DusitD2 attack in January15-16, 2019- but Kinoti said “we learnt a lot from the incident. We realised the importance of equipping ourselves.”
Unlike other attacks, say the September 21, 2013 Westgate attack that left 67 people dead, the response time in DusitD2 was shorter and the coordination better.
21 lives were claimed during the attack, while all the 5 attackers including a suicide bomber died.
“This will enhance the response capabilities of ATPU,” he said. “This is a great show of solidarity from the Government of Germany, for the sake of the safety and security of our country.”
Ambassador Guenther said with the growing cross-border crime, there is need for investment in the security sector.
“While increased globalisation allows increased flow of goods, it also allows criminals to move from one country to the other,” she said.
She said a secure Kenya will mean a secure Germany.
This year alone; the German government through their Embassy in Kenya has donated security paraphernalia to DCI worth millions of shillings, including facilitating trainings for officers.
In December 2019, the German Government donated crime scene kits, motorcycles and several vehicles to the ATPU unit.
In March this year, they also donated forensic kits worth Sh27 million to be used the newly built Forensic Laboratory based at the DCI headquarters.
Want to send us a story? Contact Shahidi News Tel: +254115512797 (Mobile & WhatsApp)
