The Nation (Nairobi)
2 July 2009
Nairobi — All law enforcement units are equal and the only difference is in the uniform, the Administration Police chief has said.
Commandant Kinuthia Mbugua said none of the agencies should be looked down upon as they had the same mandate.
"We perform equal tasks of maintaining law and order. What makes us different is the uniform we wear," he said.
No war
He was speaking as claims of a major rift between his unit and the regular force headed by Maj-Gen Hussein Ali continued to gather pace after last Saturday's shooting of two senior APs by regular police officers in Mombasa.
"There is no war -- real or imagined -- between the AP and regular police. The incident in Mombasa where some of my officers were gunned down by colleagues, should not be blown out of proportion," he said.
Mr Mbugua said Kenyans were losing confidence in law enforcement agencies following an increase in criminal activities. "When you see Kenyans turning to vigilantes to fight criminals, we need to assess our strategies," he said.
Mr Mbugua, who made the remarks after he opened new houses for his officers, said Sh670 million would be spent on building more houses this financial year.
At Vigilance House, police spokesman Eric Kiraithe described the alleged rift as "careless vilification of security forces." The reports, he said, affected morale and discipline, compromising the fight against crime.
Sparked dissent
"A lot of progress has been made in investigations on the shootings in Mombasa but we've no intention of discussing the findings at this time as the probe was ordered by the minister and so he will get the report first. But the impression created in the media is misleading."
The shooting in Mombasa reportedly sparked dissent among Administration Police officers who accused the regular force of murdering their colleagues.
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