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Warders join police in city street patrols


Hundreds of prison warders have been deployed in the streets of Nairobi to conduct patrols alongside their regular police counterparts.

Nairobi deputy police boss Moses Ombati confirmed the deployment, saying the warders were working “hand-in-hand” with the regular police to boost security.

“Their deployment is helping increase security officers’ presence in the streets. We are not taking any chances and we can say we have enough numbers. In case anything happens, we have enough personnel to respond,” he said.

EXECUTIVE ORDER

The warders’ core mandate is to guard prisoners but their current re-deployment is in line with an executive order made by President Uhuru Kenyatta in June.

In the order, he placed personnel of all disciplined services in the country, except the military, under the Inspector-General of Police.

It effectively put the IG in charge of more than 105,000 armed security personnel who include the Kenya Wildlife Service, the Kenya Forestry Service and the Prisons Department.

Under this expansive responsibility, the police boss was also given control of government equipment owned by those agencies for use at anytime, in a bid to enhance security.