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Kimaiyo asked all criminal gangs to surrender before police catch up with them/FILE

Kenya

Armed thugs will be met with firepower – Kimaiyo

Kimaiyo asked all criminal gangs to surrender before police catch up with them/FILE

Kimaiyo asked all criminal gangs to surrender before police catch up with them/FILE

NAIROBI Kenya, Sept 13 – The Inspector General of police David Kimaiyo has issued a shoot-to-kill order to contain the rising cases of insecurity across the country.

He says police officers will use maximum force against armed criminals operating in various parts of the country.
He asked all criminal gangs to surrender before police catch up with them.

“All the criminals should be ready to surrender for we are going to deal with them firmly; they should not expect us – when they are armed – to go and arrest them,” he warned.

He says police will not hesitate to use force to repossess illegal firearms in the hands of civilians.

“Where the life of an officer or any other person is endangered, police must use their firearm effectively, the way it is required by them in law,” he directed.

“There is no way we can have an armed gang, and we say police can go empty handed; we must deal with them firmly.”

He said the government has acquired 1,500 vehicles for the police department to boost operations.

Kimaiyo’s sentiment was echoed by Interior Cabinet secretary Joseph ole Lenku who said police will use the necessary force to contain crime in the country.

“It is in the interest of Kenyans, that whoever breaks the law face the full wrath of the law,” he stated. He denied reports by human right groups accusing police of engaging in extra-judicial killings.

“There is no extra-judicial killing; police are not going to hold properly armed criminals by their hands to take them to prison,” the Interior Cabinet Secretary said.

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He however noted that, “we will abide by the law but we will make sure that armed criminals are dealt as armed criminals. These are people who have made lives of our people unbearable.”

A new report released on August 30 by the National Crime Research Centre shows that there are 46 criminal gangs in the country.

The report shows that the majority of these groups – at 50.2 percent – engage in illicit drug trafficking while 34.4 percent engage in extortion of money and related activities.

The report further indicates 33.2 percent engage in kidnapping for ransom and also noted 12.7 percent engage in environmental crimes.

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