•Addressing the media on Tuesday, Kinoti said the entire story says it was the police.
•“We are the accused. It shows eight items but the AK47 rifle... in all fairness to say it's for police, it would have had an ID or serial number belonging to a police,” he said.
Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti held a live demonstration broadcast on TV in a bid to save his neck after an exposé showing how rogue officers hire out guns to criminals. https://bit.ly/3szQp4r
Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti held a live demonstration broadcast on TV in a bid to save his neck after an exposé showing how rogue officers hire out guns to criminals.
The top cop dismissed reports that the police hire guns out to criminals, adding that none of the firearms shown in the exposé belong to the Kenya police.
A Citizen TV exposé revealed how rogue police officers promote crime by hiring out their police operating gears: guns, uniforms, bulletproof vests, and handcuffs to criminals for as low as Sh1,000.
The exposé caused an uproar.
“The allegations are extremely serious. We shall be asking the editorial director, and other relevant reporters to come and give us more insights to this report in pursuit of criminals harbouring the weapons,” Kinoti said.
"The report seemed to be a malicious attempt to discredit the National Police Service; we can only conclude that it was aimed at creating public pandemonium over the management of the security sector."
Addressing the media on Tuesday, Kinoti said the entire story says it was the police.
The DCI boss invited a ballistics expert and other officers to explain the process of keeping records on firearms and the types of guns used by officers.
“We are the accused. It shows eight items but the AK47 rifle... in all fairness to say it's police, it would have had an ID or serial number belonging to police,” Kinoti said.
“As for the pistol, I have never seen such a pistol.. I have seen it today, I have never seen it in my life.”
Kinoti said an investigation into the matter would be fit only if the media house included the police in the expose.
“I don't know why I was not approached to collaborate on the expose'. We never refused to be embedded in your operations. Put us on board, up to now we have no idea of these crimes,” he said.
“Which commander can dare cover for a police officer who gives a criminal a firearm?” he posed.
PRESS STATEMENT ON A SENSATIONAL REPORT AIRED ON CITIZEN TELEVISION TITLED "SILAHA MITAANI". pic.twitter.com/PfrxPe0hNg
— DCI KENYA (@DCI_Kenya) April 20, 2021
Kinoti said they have officials who track police firearms day and night.
“If a firearm is missing, we have mechanisms to track this. The statement of the reporter who did all this work; there is nowhere he is saying that his weapons belong to the police,” he said.
“...Which evidence are you giving rather than sensationalising the matter. How do we believe that uniform belongs to the police?”
On the handcuffs, Kinoti said tenders are given to civilians.
“It is not a big issue they can be gotten anywhere even here at the police service. We need to talk about accountability and we cannot tell where it came from without evidence,” he said.
Kinoti further brought a ballistic expert who explained to Kenyans how they track firearms.
“We examined the firearms today, this firearm is from China and has no serial number,” Ballistic expert Mwongera said
“ Parts of the firearm having different numbers, means they came from different firearms. This AK47 ( shown on #GunsGalore) does not belong to the government or police.”
Chief Firearms Armor said “We maintain records of firearms in the master ledger. All firearms issued to police stations are in permanent records at stations & headquarters.”
“The moment a police officer gets a firearm; details are recorded in the arms movement book until returned,” he said.