Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai has turned his attention to fixing the moribund Police Air Wing to improve the service’s aerial mobility.
An effective air wing will enable officers to reach scenes of crime faster, provide surveillance from the sky and fly cover for their colleagues while pursuing criminals.
It’s quite disappointing that the police flying unit has become a bottomless pit into which taxpayers’ funds are poured every year, but with the allocations hardly making a difference in the service’s operations as its few aircraft are most of the time grounded.
In March, we revealed how the unit spent Sh4.6 billion on three helicopters — two AW139s and one A12 — which had never flown due to lack of insurance.
Then the IG said that, within a month, there would be a lot of change and that he would have at least six helicopters flying. To date, there is hardly any evidence of this.
It makes absolutely no sense to have pilots and flight engineers who spend almost all their working time on the ground.
These professionals and backup staff are not adding value to the National Police Service, and yet they are paid their full salaries and allowances every month without fail.
This is a scandal of monumental proportions as huge sums of money are spent on procuring aircraft and equipment that are never put to use.
The IG is expected to wield his huge broom at the unit’s base at Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
The investigations should lead to an overhaul targeting the commander, his assistants and staff. These officials must be sanctioned for the loss of hundreds of millions of shillings every year.
There is, clearly, an urgent need to fix the air wing and enable it to soar again and fully discharge its mandate.
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