Breach of rules cited in ammunition case

A breach of procedures has been blamed for allowing individuals to acquire huge amounts of ammunition, investigations have revealed.

Investigations following the recovery of bullets from a businessman’s garage in Narok show the ammunition may have been diverted to private hands during delivery from the manufacturer.

Officials familiar with standard operating procedures said arms and bullets procured by any of the security units should first be checked in at its central armoury before distribution to other commands.

Investigators believe this requirement may have been overlooked and are analysing relevant documents, and questioning security officers to establish why and how this happened.

Out of the more than 130,000 bullets found, a big proportion was imported from the Czech Republic and the rest was sold by the military-run Kenya Ordinance Factory Corporation (KOFC) in Eldoret.

Detectives who sought anonymity because they are not authorised to give information to the media said the investigation would be extended to the Czech Republic.

KOFC officials have been interviewed and similar enquiries would be made at the foreign firms that sold them, the investigators said.

Military, regular and Administration Police officers, including those stationed at the armouries, have also been questioned. The investigation has so far revealed it was possible to trace the culprit even in circumstances where just a single bullet was found in wrong hands.