Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and his Interior counterpart Kithure Kindiki have addressed recent clashes involving Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) and National Police Service (NPS) personnel.
Duale and Kindiki were responding to recent incidents involving the two institutions in public that have been a cause of concern.
The two Cabinet Secretaries were speaking on Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Ruiru Staff and Training College during the handover of Wanini Kireri Magereza Hospital by the Kenya Defense Forces to the Ministry of Interior.
They called on members of the disciplined forces to work together and interact harmoniously as comrades, saying that they share a common objective of ensuring security and stability of the country.
CS Kindiki called for a truce between KDF and police noting that the two factions must work together as comrades.
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“Within the security sector we are one we are united. We have different mandates but our common objective that puts us together is the security and stability of our nation. Therefore, the organs of our internal security and our KDF that are responsible for the defense of our nation we have one common objective, and we must always work together,” said Kindiki.
Duale Addresses KDF & Police Clashes
CS Duale on his part reminded the police and KDF officers that they have been assigned the role of ensuring national security organ hence must adhere to the mandate provided in the constitution to protect and defend the country and its citizens.
“We want to ask each and every member of the security organs the Kenya Defense Forces, the National Intelligence Service the National Police Service and many other formations that are below them that at all times let our focus be that of comradeship be that of uniting our country and defending the citizens and prosperity and sovereignty integrity of our country,” said Duale
The two CSs were addressing recent clashes involving KDF and NPS officers that have been caught on camera.
In the first incident recorded on Wednesday April 15, 2024, KDF soldiers stormed Lodwar Police Station to rescue four of their colleagues.
Their colleagues had been arrested by the police for disarming a police officer at a roadblock near Turkana University College.
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The situation escalated after more than ten armed KDF soldiers stormed the Police Station in a dramatic move aimed at releasing of the four.
Likoni Ferry incident
In another incident, Kenya Navy soldiers were recorded assaulting two police officers and a private security guard near the Likoni Ferry on April 27.
On the same day barely 8 hours after the incident, a KDF soldier attached to the Garissa-based 6th Brigade of the Kenya Army was arrested after assaulting a police officer and releasing a suspect from Bondora Police post in Rabai, Kilifi County.
The three incidents which had become a worrying trend of altercations between the security forces caused uproar among Kenyans.
KDF while responding to the Likoni incident described it as highly “regrettable” maintaining that Military Police and requisite investigation agencies had since launched probe to establish the circumstances leading to the incident,
“The incident is highly regrettable. As KDF personnel, we are beholden to the core value of professionalism,” said the Ministry of Defense in a statement.
Following the incident, officers from both security wings resolved their differences in a reconciliation meeting.
KDF hands over Facilities
Meanwhile, CSs Duale and Kindiki while making the remarks oversaw the handing over of the Wanini Kireri Magereza Hospital by the KDF to the Ministry of Interior.
Built by the Kenya Defense Forces, the hospital contains a 150-bed capacity meant to serve officers from the Kenya Prisons, their families and members of the public on referral basis.
The facility was named after the first woman commandant of the training facility Wanini Kireri, who passed away in May 2022.
KDF also handed over the NPS Hospital at Mbagathi which has a capacity of 150 beds to serve police officers together with their families, with the two facilities costing Ksh2.5 billion.
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