Sh800m lost to fraud at police headquarters

The nerve-centre of the fight against crime in Kenya has been hit by a wave of thefts that could add up to Sh800 million.

An investigation at Police Headquarters, Vigilance House, into the theft of Aids drugs worth millions that disappeared from heavily guarded stores exposed a series of other crimes.

One fraud was discovered because the system of surveillance camera meant to deter and detect crime within and around the fortress-like building itself never worked, despite being procured at a massive Sh300 million.

Detectives probing the theft of the Aids drugs gathered to inspect Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage, only to be shocked that there were no images.

That led to another investigation, which established that the CCTV system worked only for a week before going blank, despite costing what is now believed to be a highly inflated sum.

As a result, Police Commissioner Hussein Ali ordered a wide range of investigations beyond the theft, to include the purchase and installation of the CCTV system and other tenders that altogether total to Sh800 million.

Officers close to the investigation led by the CID told the Nation that Vigilance House may have been fitted with “dummy surveillance equipment,” and the millions of shillings meant for the genuine one embezzled.

At least six senior officers, from the personnel, logistics and procurement departments have been questioned. The investigations team is led by senior assistant commissioner of police Gideon Kimilu.

The detectives have dusted the store for finger prints, and those being investigated had their prints taken. During the drugs theft, the doors and locks remained intact, suggesting the thieves used keys to gain entry.

Officers privy to the investigation, but who requested not to be named, said Maj-Gen Ali was shocked to hear that the anti-retroviral drugs had been stolen from the store on the ground floor of Vigilance House on Nairobi’s Harambee Avenue.

The police chief was further angered when informed that the CCTV system had failed shortly after installation, and yet no one had bothered to file a report or take up the issue with the suppliers.

Actually fake

The investigations so far reveal that what was thought to be a state-of-the-art system was actually fake, and also procured at a price way above the real value for a functioning system.

Junior officers stationed at the monitoring room have also been questioned to establish why the breakdown was not reported.

The drugs stolen were for the treatment of police officers who are HIV positive. Procurement and distribution of the drugs is part of a programme to reduce casualties of the HIV and Aids scourge among police staff.