Festive Season Security Enhanced as Government Intensifies Efforts
The Ministry of Interior and National Administration has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all Kenyans and residents across the country as the festive season approaches.
The government has vowed to continue upholding the rule of law, promising firm action against criminal activities and a steadfast commitment to safeguarding the constitutional rights of all citizens.
Speaking on Thursday during a press briefing, Acting Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Administration Dr. Musalia Mudavadi has emphasized on the importance of public cooperation with law enforcement which underscores the governments commitments to protect the rights of citizens.
“We call upon citizens to report any suspicious activities or criminal behavior to authorities in a bid to build a safer and more secure society,” he stated. This call comes as the government seeks to strengthen partnerships with communities in the ongoing effort to combat crime.
He said that the Ministry also reflects on the events of May 2024, where peaceful protests were marred by violent elements that led to tragic outcomes, including the loss of lives and endangerment of national institutions. While the majority of demonstrators peacefully exercised their rights, criminal elements took advantage of the situation, leading to a breakdown of public order hence the government reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining peace through lawful and measured responses.
Mudavadi noted a positive development in crime reduction on security matters, with a significant decrease in incidents of robbery, vehicle theft, traffic offence, corruption cases, dangerous drugs, break-ins among others thus causing economic loss, however a total of 114 cases were reported across the country,81 cases being in court and 33 under investigation.
“Currently, the elephant in the room in the security sector is the worrying trend of the mounting cases of Femicide which have brought the underlying and ongoing violations of the rights of women in particular,” he stated while highlighting crime incidents such as homicides, cattle rustling among others.
He noted that the country has recorded a total of 7,107 sexual and gender-based violence cases from September 2023 to date. Nairobi County recorded the highest number of incidents while Samburu and Mandera Counties had the lowest.
At the same time, he noted that there were 100 murders of women from August to November 2024 hence the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has completed investigations on these and the majority are pending for court. The Inspector General of Police has formed a specialized missing persons unit, domiciled at the DCI homicide unit, to deal with cases of homicides.
“On road accidents, the country has recorded an increase in serious injury due to road traffic accidents, rising by about 11 percent since 2023. There has been a decrease in fatalities among driver-passengers, pillion passengers, those who ride at the back of a motorcycle, and motorcycles by 5.85 percent, 10 percent, 9 percent and 10.05percent. The month of December normally records the highest number of fatalities,” he stated.
The Acting CS has urged Kenyans in this festive season, especially public service vehicle drivers driving on long-distance streets to be careful and drive safely.
Mudavadi has issued directives to enhance road safety and reinforce law enforcement on major highways in order to minimize road accidents, reduce traffic violations, and uphold passenger safety including an increase in police presence and patrols on major highways both day and night. This heightened vigilance is intended to discourage reckless driving, speed violations, and prevent the operation of unlicensed or overloaded Public Service Vehicles (PSVs).
Additionally, he said that law enforcement will ramp up efforts to remove illegal and unlicensed PSVs from the roads. Vehicles, which fail to meet the necessary safety standards set forth by the Motor Vehicle Passenger Transport Act of 2014, will be prohibited from operating as passenger transport vehicles.
“The enforcement focuses on ensuring that speed limits are enforced across all major highways to prevent speed-related accidents, a key factor in reducing traffic fatalities.,” he said while he emphasized the importance of personal responsibility within law enforcement, urging base commanders and officers to take proactive measures in their jurisdictions to uphold public safety.
He encouraged the officers to remain engaged in monitoring and addressing any road safety issues and report violations promptly, since this is critical to the national goal to reduce road traffic fatalities by 50 percent before the end of 2028.
“On terrorism, Kenya has achieved milestones in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism with the Global Terrorism Index, impacts decreasing from a high in 2023 to a medium in 2024. Our records indicated that from January 2022 to November 2024, our officers have thwarted 47 terrorist attacks across the country, several terrorists have been neutralized. The government has also pushed for 11 successful convictions,” he said.
On disasters, including industrial accidents, oil spills and chemical and gas leaks are also normally reported in the country, leading to loss of lives and long-term detrimental effects on the environment. To effectively mitigate the impact of these disasters, the government continues to enforce and review legislation concerning environmental management and enhance early warning systems to predict and monitor disasters.
This accomplishment showcases the country’s commitment to ensuring the highest levels of safety and security at its airports, including Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The enhanced multi-agency collaborations have also led to the recovery in our airports of 2,540 kilograms of elephant ivory, 14,547 kilograms of bushmeat and 5.92 kilograms of rhino horns. Five suspects were arrested and prosecuted this year.
The government recently established and operationalized the Mining Police Unit to curb illegal mining and the Directorate of Refugees formally introduced the Shirika Plan, which proposes the conversion of refugee camps into integrated settlements for the mutual benefit of refugees and host communities.
