DCI dismisses Citizen TV exposé, says firearms were from China
By Mourice Seretta
The Director of Criminal Investigations, (DCI) George Kinoti has dismissed an exposé aired recently on a local TV station showing how rogue officers hire out guns to criminals.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, Kinoti dismissed reports that the police hire guns out to criminals, adding that none of the firearms shown in the exposé belong to the Kenya Police.
“We are the accused. It shows eight items but the AK47 rifle… in all fairness to say it’s for police, it would have had an ID or serial number belonging to a police,” he said.
He said that the allegations were extremely serious and that DCI shall be asking the editorial director, and other relevant reporters to come and give DCI more insights to thE report in pursuit of criminals harboring the weapons.
“The report seemed to be a malicious attempt to discredit the National Police Service; we can only conclude that it was aimed at creating public pandemonium over the management of the security sector.”
The DCI boss invited a ballistics expert and other officers to explain the process of keeping records on firearms and the types of guns used by officers.
“As for the pistol, I have never seen such a pistol. I have seen it today, I have never seen it in my life.If a firearm is missing, we have mechanisms to track this. The statement of the reporter who did all this work; there is nowhere he is saying that his weapons belong to the police.” Kinoti added.
He however questioned the uniform that was acquired by the investigative journalists covering the story.
He further said an investigation into the matter would be fit only if the media house included the police in the expose.
“I don’t know why I was not approached to collaborate on the expose’. We never refused to be embedded in your operations. Put us on board, up to now we have no idea of these crimes,” he said.
Kinoti brought a ballistic expert who explained to Kenyans how they track firearms and said the firearms they examined came from China and had no serial number.
A Citizen TV exposé revealed how rogue police officers promote crime by hiring out their police operating gears: guns, uniforms, bulletproof vests, and handcuffs to criminals for as low as Sh1,000.
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