US to fly in drug detectives to help Kenya, says envoy

Business

By Cyrus Ombati

Kenya has sought the assistance of detectives from the United States America to help investigate the drug menace in the country.

US ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger revealed Drugs Enforcement Administration (DEA) was already assisting Kenya in the investigation.

"The government has asked for support from the Drug Enforcement Administration in the US and we are providing that support," said Ranneberger.

He said America is willing to assist Kenya to investigate the drug menace and warned the process is complex hence may take a longer period than expected.

"Drug investigations take a long time to be carried out. They are very complex so these investigations will be ongoing for quite sometime," he said.

Speaking in Nairobi, the outgoing envoy said the report presented in Parliament by Internal Security Minister Prof George Saitoti on the issue is preliminary because of the complexity of drugs investigations.

"That report is preliminary because of the complexity of the investigations, it is not the sort of investigations that can take a short period of time," he added.

The report was never debated as the minister said it was just a progress one.

Ranneberger also laughed off claims by Juja MP William Kabogo who told Parliament that the US ambassador had been spying on him by sending guards to his home.

"Obviously that is ridiculous," he said amid a prolonged laughter.

Police say they are still investigating the menace. But the detectives handling the issue concluded that the Kenya Police, as is currently constituted, has no capacity to investigate drug trafficking and its related activities in the country.

A team detailed to investigate and unmask drug barons and their activities in the country concluded in their report that the Kenya Police can only undertake such investigations after establishing a strong intelligence network base.

"The police will require a longer period of time and intelligence network so as to be able to get meaningful evidence against drug traffickers due to the complexity of the investigations," the report states in part.

Commissioner of police Mathew Iteere appointed the team with specific terms of reference to unearth drug trafficking in Kenya, unearth drug trafficking syndicates and barons and to gather sustainable evidence that can sustain charges before a court of law.

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