Leader spoke of plan to buy police aircraft in last speech
Acquisition of new aircraft and motor vehicles for the police in readiness for the next General Election was one of the highlights of the last official speech delivered by Internal Security minister George Saitoti.
Those who attended the conference on peaceful elections in Mombasa and listened to Prof Saitoti speak passionately about his vision for a new and more effective police force may find it painfully ironical that he and his trusted assistant Orwa Ojodeh had to lose their lives in a crash involving one of the force’s helicopters, only two days after this speech.
Mr Ojodeh, who has been the face of the ministry in Parliament, earning himself the tag ‘Serikali’ (government), also attended the Mombasa conference.
Buying more vehicles
“We will be buying more vehicles and even new aircraft for the police service. We are allocating more money for this as it will help us ensure there is adequate security before, during and after the General Election,” said Prof Saitoti. (READ: War against crime gets major boost)
Another key measure being put in place is overhaul of the curriculum at the Kenya Police College at Kiganjo, both for recruits and serving officers, to give them special skills, including those touching on respect for human rights.
“We have completely overhauled the curriculum at Kiganjo and introduced components on human rights. We have raised entrance levels for those joining the police service as we need literate policemen who can read the law,” he said.
Equipping the police force with aircraft and vehicles is part of far-reaching reforms targeting the force ahead of the coming election to avert violence.
