Guns used in TV expose don’t belong to the police service: Kinoti

DCI boss George Kinoti addressing journalists at the DCI Headquarters on Kiambu Road in Nairobi on Tuesday, April 20. [Standard]

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss, George Kinoti, has denied that guns acquired by Citizen Television crew for an expose that aired on Sunday, April 18 were leased out by policemen.

In the expose, the Station reported how rogue police officers were aiding in criminal activities by hiring out their firearms and uniforms to unlicensed members of the public.

DCI chief, Kinoti, however says the reporting was done to paint police in bad light.

“No effort [was] made by Citizen TV to reach the police service for clarity,” said Kinoti.

The top sleuth said the report adopted a “contemptuous” tone aimed at “undermining efforts by the National Police Service”.

Kinoti said the firearms, which were surrendered to the police in Kilimani on Monday, April 19, by Citizen TV crew, “do not belong to the Service”.

“The report was a deliberate act to taint the Service’s reputation,” added the DCI boss, claiming the expose risks jeopardising the national security.

Kinoti said the investigative agency has summoned Royal Media Services Director of Innovation and Strategy, Linus Kaikai, to “give more insight” into the report.

“We have filed a complaint with the Media Council of Kenya against the station,” said Kinoti.

The expose caused uproar on social media on Sunday through Monday, with online users calling for a mass audit of guns assigned to police officers in the country.