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{
    "id": 503159,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/503159/?format=api",
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    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in this country, we have seen situations where police officers collaborate with some elements that destabilize this country in terms of causing insecurity. Therefore, we know that if we are not careful, we could open a Pandora ’s Box where the facilitation provided to the KPRs could be found in the wrong hands. We need to strengthen the supervisory element so that we can account for every arm and ammunition given to them. In areas like Kapedo, Baringo, Samburu, Turkana and West Pokot, the terrain can only be understood very well by a local person. Whereas we appreciate that within the security apparatus in this country, it may not be desirable to have an individual working in the area they come from, I think for every rule there must be exception. Looking at the challenges that we face like in Kapedo where 23 or so police officers were killed in one day, one would ask if it is possible that one of the issues contributed to the situation was that the police officers did not understand the terrain very well. Therefore, we need to evaluate this situation. We have police training colleges in Kiganjo and Embakasi, but it is time to consider setting up these institutions in difficult terrains so that when a police officer is trained there, he would be better placed to handle such situations. If you train people in Kiganjo, Embakasi or in areas where there is no harsh terrain, they will still find difficulty in engaging, working and responding with effectiveness in the areas they are posted. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we also need to look into the issue of training. If you give a police reservist a firearm, how do you ensure that they are trained? How do you trust a civilian with a firearm before you do proper training? We know that the Kenya police officers train for up to 15 months. The element of training has to be relooked at, both at the regular police services within our country, but more importantly at the level of the KPRs. We need to provide them with sufficient training. We also need to look into providing them with adequate vehicles to respond to some of these challenges. Mobility for a police officer in terms of response is critical. If a police officer is properly armed and has the necessary ammunitions, but is not mobile in such terrains, their work becomes very difficult. That is a very crucial element. Finally, the big challenge we have in this country is the element of intelligence collection. For a very long time even if you had lean personnel, but had effective intelligence, you would identify how to respond, when to ask for reinforcement and when to send police officers to the right place. In this country, we have seen some situations which are unimaginable. You will not imagine that people could sit, plan and even attempt to execute a raid in a barracks. Where was the military intelligence? Where is the security intelligence in this country? We need to give them adequate facilitation, but more importantly ask them to be accountable. We need security apparatus that are funded using taxpayers resources to be accountable. We know the national budget allocated to intelligence in this country may not meet all the requirements that they need. However, it is fairly adequate. We need to hold them accountable and ensure that they provide accurate and timely intelligence to enable the police and the security forces in the country to respond to the security challenges in our country. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}