President Kenyatta's order on new security plan
President Kenyatta, Cabinet Secretary Joseph ole Lenku (right) and Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore during a briefing on the implementation of an Integrated Public Safety and Security System on May 14, 2014. Its one of the most advanced M2M system about to be installed. PHOTO | PSCU
What you need to know:
- The surveillance system will be built at a cost of Sh15 billion
- Safaricom will deliver the system at cost — without profiting from it — with the government only expected to reimburse actual costs incurred in the process
President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed that young police officers be trained ahead of the roll-out of a new communications and surveillance system Safaricom has been contracted to build.
The President said that he had asked Inspector-General David Kimaiyo to include the officers in a group that would be trained on the surveillance system because they are able to adopt new technology faster.
“The Kenya Police Service will soon have this modern integrated security system that will revolutionise how it fights crime. I want this done as soon as possible because it is necessary for the safety of our country,” he said yesterday when he met top Safaricom officials and national security chiefs at Harambee House in Nairobi for a demonstration on how the system works.
The surveillance system will be built at a cost of Sh15 billion.
“The President is committed to improving the security of the country and this system is at the heart of the Government’s initiatives to fight crime and terror.
It will begin in Nairobi and then spread to other counties in the course of time,” presidential spokesperson Manoah Esipisu told the Nation by phone on Wednesday.
IDENTIFY AND TRACK SUSPECTS
The government contracted Safaricom to build the system as part of efforts to enhance security in the country in the wake of increased terrorist attacks and other crimes.
It will include a system of spy cameras (CCTV) linked to computers which will analyse faces and other data to help identify and track suspects. The project will first be implemented in Nairobi and Mombasa, which have been hardest hit by terrorism.
Safaricom will deliver the system at cost — without profiting from it — with the government only expected to reimburse actual costs incurred in the process.
It will enable security personnel to monitor live any area, detect any security incident, help direct police response and monitor the flow of people and traffic, especially in town centres.
The project includes the set-up of a command and control centre from where security operations will be coordinated.
A committee, headed by Interior Principal Secretary Mutea Iringo, evaluated the system ahead of Wednesday’s demonstration.
The project will involve connecting 195 police stations in Mombasa and Nairobi to high speed Internet to ease communication.
