The Special Service Unit (SSU), Elite Squad of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has today been disbanded following a directive by Acting Inspector General of Police, Noor Gabow.
The IG says officers affected with the move have been recalled to Mazingira House, DCI headquarters with immediate effect amidst reorganisation by new administration where DCI’s communication affairs is also being reorganised.
“All officers serving in the disbanded unit have been recalled to DCI Headquarters for further instructions,” read a statement by the DCI.
Following an official announcement by former DCI boss George Kinoti to dissolve all of the then Flying Squad units inside the country, leaving just the Headquarters Unit situated in Nairobi, the SSU went into existence on the eve of the new year in 2020.
Since January 2018, during former president Uhuru Kenyatta’s second term, Kinoti had been in charge of the criminal investigating agency.
His resignation was to happen after President William Ruto accused him of using the war on graft and other crimes as a weapon, particularly in the months leading up to the August 9 polls.
Ndegwa Muhoro, who led DCI for eight years, from 2010 to 2018, was succeeded by Kinoti as the fifteenth director.
While serving as the DCI boss, Kinoti also reduced the Special Crime Prevention Unit (SCPU) to a smaller unit that was only based in Nairobi.
This unit was later renamed the Special Service Unit and the officers deployed had undergone vigorous training both inside and outside of the nation, upgrading their competencies and enhancing their skills and knowledge in order to make the unit more effective and efficient while maximizing the use of the resources available.
The Flying Squad was succeeded by the Sting Squad Headquarters (SSH), which had a maximum of 50 specially trained officers to handle situations including armed robberies, kidnappings, car theft, and the sale and distribution of illegal items.
For intelligence-driven operations, the SSU and SSH squads were directly connected to the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), along with other auxiliary units such as the Cybercrime, Ballistics, Scenes of Crime, Principal Crime Registrar, Crime Intelligence Unit, Homicide, and (DNA, Toxicological, Chemistry, and Biology Lab Units) based and installed in the Ultra-Modern Forensic Laboratory on Kiambu Road.
Ruto appointed Amin Ibrahim Mohamed, 58, Senior Assistant Inspector General at the Internal Affairs Unit, which he joined in 2020, to serve as the 16th DCI boss who has been in charge of the Internal Affairs Unit at the National Police Service Commission (NPSC), after the NPSC had conducted interviews for the position of the Director of Criminal Investigations and forwarded suitable names to the office of the President for consideration.
A special gazette notice announcing his appointment was published on Friday.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by section 30 of National Police Service Act,2011, William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander in chief of the Defense Forces appoint Amin Mohamed Ibrahim to be the Director, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI),” the notice read in part.
As a Senior Assistant Inspector General (IAU) tasked with investigating torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment administered to any person by any police officer, he has encouraged his fellow officers to voice complaints they have encountered while performing their duties.
Ibrahim has held positions at the Nairobi Anti-Corruption Police Unit as a Chief Inspector, Superintendent of Police, Head of Surveillance and Technical Services, and Senior Superintendent of Police.
Between 2015 to 2019, he held the position of Regional Coordinator for the North Eastern Region at the DCI.
He oversaw operations at the DCI headquarters from 2014 to 2015 while serving as the Central Region’s Regional Coordinator in 2014.
Ibrahim worked with the DCI in various capacities in different locations.
In 2009 and 2010, he was assigned to the Banking Fraud Investigations Unit to look into and prosecute crime and fraud cases.
In 2007-2008, he oversaw investigations and prosecution of Post-Election Violence (PEV) cases in Rift Valley Province.
He successfully investigated and prosecuted the Sabaot Land Defense Force (SLDF) for crimes committed in Trans-Nzoia County in 2007.
He oversaw all investigations at the National Police Service (NPS) as the Head of Investigations in the investigations department in 2004.
Ibrahim examined the case of Nancy Baraza, a former Deputy Chief Justice who was charged with abusing and threatening Rebecca Kerubo, a mall security guard in Nairobi.
The assassination of the late Bishop Luigi Locatti of the Isiolo Diocese Is also another famous case that he successfully investigated.