• CS says state will put up similar centres in other parts of the country.
• Ambassador says Kenya and the UK will continue to partner in the fight against terrorism.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on Friday met the new British High Commissioner Jane Marriott at the proposed Sh60 million Anti-Terrorism Centre in Mombasa.
The British government is funding the new centre at the Coast Police headquarters.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the state-of-the-art centre was done in April in the presence of then British High Commissioner Nic Hailey, Director of Criminal Investigation George Kinoti and Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji.
However, the construction of the centre is yet to kick off. It was scheduled to be completed by December.
Matiang’i said they wanted to make sure the project is of top quality.
“We want to do things differently. We have put together a technical committee that meets very often to plan this project. We have also been meeting and we will continue meeting until we deliver this project,” he said.
The CS termed the Friday morning meeting as successful.
“This is where we are putting up an Anti-Terrorism Centre with the help of the British government. Terrorism is an international phenomenon that we all need to work together."
Matiang'i said the Kenyan government will put up similar projects in other parts of the country to curb terrorism.
“The challenge for any government is to stay two or more steps ahead of terrorism. We are mobilising resources to build this kind of facilities elsewhere in the country,” he said.
Marriott said Kenya and the United Kingdom will continue to partner in the fight against terrorism.
“Terrorism is an international problem, it’s a problem that Kenya and UK share. We’ll work together and try and protect the safety of all our citizens,” the ambassador said.
Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai said the project will go a long way in curbing terrorism.
“We would like to thank the British government for this project,” he said.
Coastal counties of Mombasa, Kwale and Lamu have witnessed a spate of attacks by al Shabaab militants who cross over into Kenya through the porous Kenya-Somali border.
Edited by R.Wamochie