Bill proposes an armed force to fight terrorism, maritime crime

Kenya navy officers on patrol in the Indian Ocean. The navy is not legally and operationally equipped to handle maritime crimes. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The Kenya Coast Guard Service will also be deployed alongside Kenya Defence Forces to protect the country in times of war.

  • Kenyans have until Monday to submit views on the bill to the clerk of the National Assembly.

  • According to the bill, individuals who have served in the police force, intelligence and military will form the rank and file of the Coast Guard.

  • Professionals will also be seconded to the guard from the Public Service Commission.

Kenya could soon have an armed force that will predominantly operate in the high seas with orders to fight pirates, drug and gun traffickers, terrorists and other maritime criminals.

The Kenya Coast Guard Service will also be deployed alongside Kenya Defence Forces to protect the country in times of war.

However, the force will only come into existence when Parliament passes a law establishing it.

Kenyans have until Monday to submit views on the bill to the clerk of the National Assembly.

According to the bill, individuals who have served in the police force, intelligence and military will form the rank and file of the Coast Guard.

Professionals will also be seconded to the guard from the Public Service Commission.

Under the command of a director-general, Coast Guard personnel will be deployed in territorial waters. Besides fighting crime, they will also conduct search and rescue missions.

REPLACE POLICE

The bill, sponsored by the government through National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, lists other functions of the service, which could see its personnel replace police at ports.

It says coast guards will be deployed “for port and coastal security, prosecuting maritime offenders, protecting archeological or historical objects or sites, enforcing sanitation measures and enforcing pollution control”.

The service, according to the bill, will have powers that, at the moment, are enjoyed by police, military and the National Intelligence Service.

“The service, within territorial waters, shall have the power to stop, enter and board, search and inspect any structure, place, vessel or aircraft engaged in or suspected to be engaged in any unlawful activity,” the proposed law says.

The Coast Guard will also have powers to investigate and arrest suspected offenders.

However, arrested people “must be handed over to the National Police Service as soon as it is practicable”.

COAST GUARD

This means Coast Guard officers will be allowed to detain and interrogate suspects.

It will also have a council that will be the service’s top decision- making organ.

The council will consist of the attorney-general, chief of defence forces, inspector-general of police, the director-general of the National Intelligence Service and cabinet secretaries in charge of security, finance, defence, transport, fisheries and environment.

A technical committee comprising principal secretaries from the ministries will also be formed to help in running the service.

Politicians will be locked out of the force.

Though the service is expected to be a maritime security organisation, it will be distinct from Kenya Navy, the Maritime Authority and the Maritime Police Unit.

Its officers will be deployed at the Indian Ocean, Lake Victoria and other places.

The Cabinet approved the bill in September 2017. The bill was mooted to give the country a specialised law-enforcement agency to deal with maritime issues.

ILLEGAL

The navy handles such matters but is not legally and operationally equipped.

The Kenya Maritime Authority, which was established through a presidential order in 2004, lacks powers to enforce laws.

Kenya has a long coastline, which borders countries such as lawless Somalia, and runs more than 600 kilometres into the high seas.

Kenya loses Sh10 billion annually due to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in its waters and exclusive economic zones.

It is estimated that the worldwide value of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing catches stands at $9 billion (Sh900 billion).

In the absence of coast guards, Kenya has been relying on the wellbeing of international partners who deploy naval forces in the Indian Ocean.

The forces were deployed at the height of piracy and have also been instrumental in intercepting boats transporting cocaine, heroin and other drugs.