Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo (left) flanked by Principal Secretary in the ministry ambassador Dr Monica Juma (centre) address the press at Moi Forces Academy on Tuesday, after planting trees as part of Kenya @50 celebrations. [PHOTO: COLLINS KWEYU/STANDARD]

By GEOFFREY MOSOKU and CYRUS OMBATI

NAIROBI, KENYA: The Government has defended the move to create a new military squad to deal with internal security threats.

Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo said President Uhuru Kenyatta was within the law to create the command because the military is constitutionally mandated to assist other institutions in containing crime.

“The command will assist to coordinate security matters in the targeted areas. This will help the military achieve their constitutional mandate,” she said.

Ms Omamo said the military is constitutionally empowered to protect Kenya’s territory, assist other authorities in maintaining law and order and facilitate peaceful co-existence.

She said there are more serious emerging security threats that require their intervention even as she denied claims that police have been overwhelmed.

“The command will enable them respond to th evolving environment. Remember Nairobi is the capital of this country contributing up to 60 per cent of the GDP,” she added.

She spoke after presiding over a tree-planting event at the Moi Forces Academy in Eastleigh in the company of her Principle Secretary Monica Juma.

Omamo said the population in Nairobi is growing at an alarming rate hence need for the involvement of the military to help in policing some issues.

The cabinet secretary spoke as questions are being raised after President Kenyatta moved to create a command to deal with internal security threats.

On Monday, the Department of Defence (DoD) sent a statement to newsrooms announcing that Uhuru has created the new command for the Kenya Defence Forces to be named the Nairobi Metropolitan Command that will deal with the emerging security threats in the country.

 “The new command is as a result of the current threat emerging from terrorism, drug trafficking, proliferation of small arms and crime among others that tend to flourish in highly urbanised areas like Nairobi,” read the statement.

Currently, KDF is operationally divided into two commands namely, East and West.

The President has however, been faulted over the move which now has been described as usurping the role of the Kenya Police Service.

MPs Richard Onyonka, (Kitutu Chache South), Junet Mohamed (Suna East) and civil society personalities George Kegoro of the Internal Commission of Jurists and Ekuru Aukot (formerly of the Commission of Experts) questioned the move. Several senior police officers who spoke anonymously described the creation of the command as ill-timed saying it will cause confusion.