The government has announced that the country is planning to improve military equipments starting next year in a deal with the United States that will cost the tax payer 7 Billion yearly.
The first batch of the equipment worth Ksh. 7 billion will arrive in January 2024 which includes Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs), Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), and surveillance drones.
According to the statement from Counter Terrorism Policing, the military equipments will boost security agencies which are battling Al Shabaab terrorists and bandits in the country in a bid to offer better security service to Kenyans.
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Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Tuesday, while on an official visit to Tiaty, Baringo County, revealed that the government will spend Ksh37 billion in the next five years to upgrade the country’s military equipment.
According to Kindiki, by late next year, aircraft ordered by the government will have arrived in the country. He explained that as the Ministry waits for the choppers to arrive, the government will begin the process of rehabilitating existing ones and deploying them for use in North Rift.
Speaking on Tuesday, Kindiki said that the government has been able to counter banditry in North rift by 70% and the government is determined to ensure that banditry is eradicated by 100%. With the new military programme, the CS is certain that banditry will be done for good.
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He stated the government will prioritise terror and banditry-prone areas such as Tiaty, Baringo North, and Ngaratuko when distributing the equipment to different government agencies to ensure combat starts immediately and effectively.
The CS also said that the government is keen to get gunship helicopters with a timing of late next year to ensure that the full force on the bandits is effective and fruitful.
