This archive report was first published on 22 November 2019.
On November 22, 2019, a contingent of police officers drawn from the Rapid Deployment Unit were deployed to the Nandi-Kisumu border in Muhoroni subcounty, Kisumu county, to address security challenges in the area.
The security challenges in the area include cattle thefts and land invasion, prompting the area MP James Onyango K'oyoo to plead with Fred Matiang'i, the Internal Security Cabinet Secretary, to deploy more officers in Nyangore, Miwani, and Fort Tenan boarders.
However, the officers were redeployed to guard private homes of Asian communities in Miwani, Muhoroni, and Chemelil areas, leaving residents vulnerable to criminal activities.
Over 20 officers are now guarding private and public buildings in Kisumu, with some section of the area security committee demanding to know why the officers were redeployed contrary to their initial deployment.
“Why the officers seem to have been leased without the authority of the concerned and it would appear their redeployment are shrouded in mystery! What we are getting is that the said buildings and public homes they are taking care of are paying for the services and we wonder if the arrangement is personal or official,” said a senior provincial administrator.
The redeployment of the officers has left residents of the area confused and concerned, with some questioning the motives behind the redeployment.
Meanwhile, residents of Nyando subcounty in Kisumu county are calling upon the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to order the closure of a police post built on a private business premises and take it closer to the community where criminal activities are rife.
