Murkomen directs all police stations be installed with CCTV cameras following Ojwang’s murder
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has ordered immediate reforms in police stations, days after the mysterious death of teacher and blogger Albert Ojwang while in Police Custody.
Addressing the press today, Murkomen stated that all police stations across the country will have mandatory installation of fully functioning CCTV Cameras, a directive he says will be completed within two years.
“It shall be mandatory to equip police stations with CCTV surveillance to enhance transparency and accountability. All the police stations, currently standing at 1,209, shall have CCTV surveillance within the next two years,” the CS directed.
Murkomen said the surveillance systems will be under the custody of the Officer Commanding Station (OCS), who shall be held responsible in case they are found not functioning.
He further added that laws shall be proposed to criminalize tampering with the system.
“We shall be making proposals to Parliament to enact laws that criminalize tampering with CCTV cameras. The surveillance system shall be in the custody of the Officer Commanding Station (OCS), and the said officer shall be required to ensure that the system is always functional,” he said.
He said the government is finalizing the rollout of digital Occurrence books, which has been ongoing since the past regime.
According to the CS, the digital system will serve as a secure and tamper-proof platform to record complaints and police reports.
“We shall roll out a digital reporting system. This is a reform that has been initiated, and we are now committed to the digitization of occurrence books to ensure all reported incidents can be traced and be tamper-proof,” he stated.
This has come about through the ongoing investigations by the Internal Affairs Unit of the Police and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority on the Circumstances that led to the death of Ojwang.
Key findings by IPOA indicated uncovered tampering with the CCTV systems located at the office of the OCS, who is reported not to have been at the station at the time the deceased was booked in.
“The key findings show that the CCTV systems located at the OCS’ office had been interfered with,” IPOA Vice Chairperson Ann Wanjiku told the Senate last week.
It was later revealed that a technician based in Nairobi was paid Sh3000 to delete the CCTV footage from the OCS’ office at the station, which is believed to have captured the events leading to the death of the 31-year-old.
