Interior ministry on the spot over Sh4.8bn VIP aircraft deal

The new helicopter handed over to the National Police Service on April 27, 2016. The Interior ministry is in the spotlight for buying four police aircrafts without the approval of Parliament. PHOTO | FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The aircrafts, which are expected to land in the country on Tuesday from Italy, cost about Sh4.8 billion.
  • MPs only learnt about the planes on Monday when they made an impromptu visit to the Police Air Wing at Wilson Airport.

  • Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu said the committee did not approve the purchase of the aircrafts.

The Interior ministry is in the spotlight for buying four police aircrafts without the approval of Parliament.

The aircrafts, which are expected to land in the country on Tuesday from Italy, cost about Sh4.8 billion.

MPs only learnt about the planes on Monday when they made an impromptu visit to the Police Air Wing at Wilson Airport.

The National Assembly Committee on Security chaired by Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange is unhappy for being kept in the dark about the aircrafts deal.

Nation Police Air Wing director Rodgers Mbithi could not answer the numerous questions raised by the MPs regarding the procurement and cost of the VIP aircrafts.

Mr Mbithi instead referred the lawmakers to Interior PS Karanja Kibicho.

APPROVE PURCHASE

“Some of the questions such as the cost can only be answered by the accounting officer in the ministry. For us, after giving specifications of what we need, the rest is done by the Interior ministry and the Office of the Inspector General,” he said.

Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu said the committee did not approve the purchase of the aircrafts.

 “As a committee, we did not receive any request nor did we approve any budget to purchase the aircrafts and now we are told that the aircrafts are arriving in the country today,” Mr Mulu said.

Mr Koinange said the House team would address the matter with the National Police Service Commission and the Interior ministry.

POLICE AIR WING

“We need to know the number of aircrafts that are coming, where they are coming from and how much was used to buy them,” he said.

He went on: “We want to ensure that the Police Air Wing is working well and able to respond to several emerging issues.”

It also emerged that the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has threatened to withdraw the licence of all police aircrafts due to lack of insurance cover.

Mr Mbithi told the MPs that KCAA has warned that the Police Air Wing risks losing the licence if it fails to get insurance.