That means should a security emergency arise requiring quick intervention, only achievable by air transport, the police will be hard pressed or unable to respond.
A new report shows the police Air Wing department is technically dead and unable to respond to emergencies.
Out of 24 air assets the wing had in 2010, only four are operational but not in its possession. They were either handed to other state entities or transferred to a new air department created in 2016 and manned by the Kenya Defence Forces.
The remaining 20 are either unserviceable due to low engine power or airworthiness. They have either been declared ‘dead’ or have crashed.
The report by the police reform task force chaired by former Chief Justice David Maraga found that the critical wing of the National Police Service is “moribund with no operating aircraft.”
It is manned from the office of Inspector General Japheth Koome.
The import of this is that the country is left exposed as police no longer have capacity for air patrols. Other entities must fly to the rescue but the force's strength is weakened.
Specifically, the document says all three CESSNA 310 aircraft were rendered unserviceable due to a service bulletin and were disposed of in 2017. One CESSNA 402 (5Y KPF) fell unserviceable due to a service bulletin and was disposed of in the same year.
Two CESSNA 2088 types are unserviceable due to low engine power after an overhaul and due to the ongoing Certificate of Airworthiness process.
Further, one BELL 47 (5Y ANA) was handed over to the Kenya National Museum in 2022 and BO 105 (5Y BFW) is now owned by the Ministry of Health and is unserviceable.
A BELL 206 (5Y COP) is no longer operational after it crashed during a routine training in 2016. A BELL 206 (5Y BCF) is unserviceable due to low engine power after a complete overhaul. Moreover, four aircraft of type AB 206 are all unserviceable due to ongoing KCAA certification process.
One AS 350 (5Y CDT) crashed in 2012 as did an AW 139 (5Y NPW) in 2020.
The air wing had three AW139 aircraft types but only one is working. It was handed over to the NASD (National Air Support Department) through a letter from the head of Public Service.
One is unserviceable as it is awaiting a 1,200-hours and four-year inspection while another crashed in 2016.
Lastly, out of the five MI17 aircraft, only one is operational and it was handed over to the air support department in 2021. One crashed in 2009 and the remaining three are unserviceable either due to one engine having low power and others awaiting overhaul.
Besides the air support transport and communication, the Air Wing was established for NPS reconnaissance operations, a critical component of police work.
The task force said the transfer of the Air Wing to NASD has hampered its operations and undermined capacity in flight operations.
The task force report also blames incompetent personnel and poor management and maintenance of the assets.
These problems led to the virtual disbandment of the wing.
Police bosses led by IG Japheth told the Maraga team that it should be given back to the service and revamped.
The few aircraft that are able to be repaired and operated require expensive spare parts. The misuse by VIPS has also been flagged.
This brings to mind the delay in police response to the terrorist attack on Garissa University College attack on April 2, 2015, when 147 people, mostly students were massacred. Help didn’t arrive in time to save many victims.
Terrorists had a field day while Recce squad officers were stranded in Nairobi as a top police official had dispatched the service’s chopper to take his children on a leisure trip to the Coast.
Of course, more than one chopper and other aircraft would have been required for a massive anti-terrorist operation.
This lack of operational aircraft has been a long-standing problem.
The lack of the air assets also brings to mind the lack of rapid response to the killing of 40 Kenya Police officers and reservists by bandits in 2012.
The police leadership could not dispatch an air set with specialised officers to rescue them near Baragoi, Samburu county. They were on a mission to recover stolen cattle.
On November 10, 2012, 42 Kenya Police officers and reservists were killed in the Suguta Valley near Baragoi, Samburu county, while on a mission to recover stolen cattle.
In 2016, the Kenya Police Air Wing was transformed into a Directorate, the National Police Service Air Wing (NPSAW) in the Office of the Inspector General.
But in 2019, the air wing was transferred to the National Air Support Department (NASD) through a presidential directive.
The new department is led by the Kenya Defence Forces and has the mandate to coordinate all aircraft to effectively respond to emergencies and security incidents.
The report says the Maraga panel heard submissions from the Inspector General as well as the head of NASD on the situation and practice in the administration of the NPS aircraft under NASD.
Top NPS leadership strongly called for the return of the Air Wing to the service.
They cited reduced operational effectiveness under the current arrangement.
However, the KDF informed the task force that the decision to transfer the Police Air Wing assets to NASD was due to the wing being run down by police and their lack of adequate technical competence to keep the expensive assets airborne.
“[The moving of the wing to the KDF-manned departments was] precipitated by a pattern of poor management, inept administration and technical failures to maintain service and operate the aircraft,” the report said.
“Some stakeholders noted the police had lost aircraft in crashes and failed to keep the rest in safe and airworthy condition, necessitating the transfer,” according to the report.
The police leadership, however, rejected those assertions and said that instead of transferring the Police Air Wing, legal and administrative actions — such as sacking those responsible —should have been taken to address the problems.
“In their presentation, NPS drew the attention of the task force to its analysis of the state of the Air Wing after transfer to NASD.
It said that “in the period between 2010 to date, we saw a sharp decline in aircraft serviceability status,” the report said.
As a remedy, the team recommends the air function be reverted to the police. It said the government should channel more resources to the NPS to enable it to acquire the latest technology and train its personnel to effectively maintain aircraft.
“The Police Air Wing should be restored to the exclusive control and management of NPS forthwith…,” the task force report said.
“The National Treasury and Parliament should ensure the provision of adequate resources and budget support for the effective and optimal operation of National Police Service Air Wing,” it said.
