Police raise red flag over faulty APCs amid security concerns

A number of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) acquired in 2016 as part of a Sh3.8 billion investment aimed at enabling the police to improve efficiency and effectiveness in providing security have been grounded, the Sunday Nation can reveal.

The deployment and serviceability of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAPs) also remains mired in secrecy.

The unending debate over the APCs and MRAPs has been sparked by last Saturday’s killing of 11 General Service Unit (GSU) personnel who were travelling in a Landcruiser in Garissa county.

FAULTY

The officers were on a yet-to-be-revealed mission when their vehicle ran over an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by suspected al-Shabaab militants along the road to Degoh in Liboi Sub-county.

A spot-check by the Sunday Nation established the APC stationed at the GSU camp located about 15 kilometres on the outskirts of Baragoi town in Samburu county was faulty.

Despite the fact that about 10 people have been killed since the start of October in cattle rustling incidents in the area, police feared to go after the raiders in their hiding places in the much-feared Suguta valley since the APC, which is supposed to offer them protection from gunfire, has been dysfunctional for months.

At Kainuk Bridge, another hotspot, police stationed in the area have been forced to improvise by holding in place the machine gun hoisted on top of the APC with ropes.

A senior security officer in the North Eastern Region, an area that has borne the brunt of terror attacks, revealed most of the APC deployed in the area are ineffective.

“There are so many challenges associated with the APCs including low speed and lack of an escape route,” he said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter.

NO MECHANICS

“Most officers would not wish to use an APC when dealing with terrorists because it stalls after being shot at several times and you are all locked inside. It is a death trap,” he said.
Another police officer based in Mandera said most APCs stationed in the area are not working.

“We don’t have readily available spare parts and mechanics. In case of a breakdown we have to wait for experts to come in from Nairobi or China,” he said.

Garissa County Police Commander Alfred Ogengo declined to comment on why the security officers were not using APCs. Instead, he referred us to the police headquarters in Nairobi.

Police spokesperson Charles Owino had not responded to our queries by the time of going to press. But in a previous interview, Mr Owino said the APCs were procured on a one-year warranty deal.

Further, he added, there was a Chinese technical team in Kenya overseeing their usage and maintenance.

Human rights activist Ndung’u Wainaina says that, while the Moi government “bought some scrap metals known as Mahindra (a vehicle model) for the police, Uhuru bought third-rate retired APCs for the police.”