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[li]JEREMIAH WAKAYA On June 29, 2018[/li][/ul]
[SIZE=7]Police receive 3 helicopters including an advanced mission chopper[/SIZE] https://www-capitalfm-co-ke.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/files/2018/06/POLICE-COPTERS.jpg NAIROBI, Kenya, June 29 – The National Police Service (NPS) has acquired three new helicopters in a bid to enhance the capabilities of the Police Air Wing.
The new choppers inspected by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi on Friday include two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters; one configured for VIP use and another for advanced mission operations.
The advanced mission helicopter is equipped with a camera capable of scanning car number plates and zoom into individuals in a crowd within a range of at least 5 kilometers. The third aircraft acquired by the police, an A12, has been configured for deployments with the capacity to ferry a dozen police officers in one go. Speaking at the Wilson Police Air Wing Hangar, CS Matiangi said the government was determined to improve capabilities of the police noting an increase in the number of functional aircrafts from three in 2013 to eleven at the moment.
“When President Uhuru Kenyatta took office in 2013, we had three grounded helicopters. Today, we’re set to have a total of eleven functional helicopters by next month in addition to two fixed-wing aircrafts,” the interior chief told reporters.
Matiangi said President Kenyatta was keen to build the capacity of the police in line with his police modernization drive that has seen NPS equipped with new Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC). In addition to the three helicopters received on Friday, the police received two trainer aircrafts from the Italian Police. Speaking at the Police Air Wing, NPS Inspector General Joseph Boinnet lauded the government for continuously enhancing the capacity of the police saying the modernization programme had greatly enhanced security in the country.
The new aircrafts estimated to have cost the taxpayers Sh 4 billion add into an assortment of police equipment procured under President Kenyatta’s administration.
In January 2017, President Kenyatta unveiled 30 APCs, 25 mine-resistant Armoured Personnel Carriers (MRPs), and over 500 vehicles under the police modernization scheme. President Kenyatta said the equipment will boost the counter-terrorism war and insecurity especially in Baringo, West Pokot, and Bungoma’s Mount Elgon region where cases of insecurity were on the rise. Official government statistics have shown the number of police vehicles to have been 3,155 in 2013. The government has since acquired additional 2,720 police vehicles some of which have been leased, to enhance police mobility.
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One step at a time each year in buying expensive military equipments for every branch and needs. For example for patrol and enhanced Navy performance, they have just received the newly built, modern and well equiped MV Doria multirole naval ship.
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Meanwhile in this financial year we have bought a Damen 4000 shipyard multirole Navy ship which advances our capabilities even further.
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Many past incidents have forced the need. For example of protocol the President is the first to fly away with Presidential choppers and gets there very early. However they have to hover and wait for the DP Uncle Ruto and others to reach them and land to await the President to land as well. The first person by protocol to welcome him should be DP Uncle Ruto. Other time the President chopper gets there kitambo but lands somewhere until the rest also catch up and are in the designated spot to welcome him. Worse was the SGR launch. The first time the President and DP were in the same moving vehicle. Every passenger station the DP was there to welcome the President, they leave together, a few kms away from public view a normal Kenya Army chopper awaits on the ground. The train stops, DP steps out and boards to be dropped in the next station to welcome the President. They did that the entire journey. After that it become apparent that the DP, Speakers and CJ need one state chopper to use. They can’t use the Kenya Army chopper anymore since all KDF assets should be soldiers, presidential guards and C n C only to use. Using their own choppers was discussed but its a national duty to protect all under the power succession plan under the full cover of state security. That’s why this last chopper was configured for VIP use by DP Uncle Ruto, Speakers and CJ.
It will be used for all travel, even you know that. Besides for a chopper to remain airworthy it must complete its full flight minutes per month whether its mission specific or not. How many times do you see the Presidential Jet flying to land at Eastleigh Airbase a week and the President isn’t using it. Since DP Uncle Ruto, Speaker Muturi, Speaker Lusaka and CJ will share usage then it will be very active.