Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said the National CCTV Integrated Command, Control and Communication system currently provides extensive surveillance coverage in Nairobi and Mombasa cities.

Murkomen, who was before the Senate Plenary to answer questions, said the system comprises 1,899 surveillance cameras and 281 ANPR cameras deployed across 664 sites nationwide with Nairobi hosting the largest concentration.

Nominated Senator Hamida Kibwana had sought to know the current coverage and operational status of the public CCTV surveillance systems in major urban centres and what measures are in place to ensure that they are functional and accessible to security agencies.

“CCTV coverage includes Nairobi CBD and key arterial roads such as Thika Superhighway, Mombasa Road, Jogoo Road, Ngong Road and Waiyaki way as well as critical installations including airports, government buildings and major intersections,” said Murkomen.

The Cabinet Secretary admitted that while some of the cameras remain operational and critical to policing and investigations, the overall effectiveness of the system is constrained by damage, dependence on leased fibre infrastructure and inactive sites.

Murkomen said that the existing CCTV and ANPR systems have been in operation for eight years with the natural expiry of their product life cycle both hardware and components( such as servers, storage and networking devices) and software have reached end of life and can no longer sustain reliable operation.

He said the proposal to expand CCTV coverage to additional major towns is underway and a directive for its implementation has been issued with the government in partnership with Safaricom is working to restore all non-operational cameras and extend surveillance coverage beyond Nairobi and Mombasa.

“The continuous roadworks and major construction projects in Nairobi particularly the Expressway have significantly disrupted CCTV systems, these works have interfered and in several instances damaged existing infrastructure reducing the effectiveness of the surveillance network,” said Murkomen.

Senator Hamida asked the Cabinet Secretary to give the house the status update on the investigations into the recent murder of Lawyer Kyalo Mbobu including whether any suspects have been apprehended or questioned so far.

Murkomen said several witnesses including staff members from Kyalo and Associates Advocates had been interviewed and their statements recorded with preliminary findings indicating the deceased was entangled in several debts owed to shylocks some of which were linked to fraudulent transactions.

He told the house that the deceased lawyer was lured into dubious gold scams and dealings in alleged German antiques which turned out to be fraudulent with the CCTV footage from Sagret Hotel, Town House where his office was located and Brookhouse International School being retrieved.

“ Investigations are ongoing with the objective of gathering sufficient evidence to identify, apprehend and prosecute the key suspects behind the crime, the CCTV footage retrieved from locations where he was seen last are currently under analysis by investigators,” said Murkomen.

Senator Hamida further asked the Cabinet Secretary to state the challenges the investigators have faced in resolving the Advocate Mbobu case, especially in regard to the Closed Circuit Television footage and other forensic evidence.

Murkomen responded that the last functional HD CCTV site before leaving the Nairobi City boundary is located near the Lang’ata Road- Magadi Road Junction and that beyond this point the CCTV Camera installed along Magadi Road is inactive and was not operational during the time of the incident.

 He said it was important to note that most CCTV Cameras within the CBD and along the route taken by the deceased were nonfunctional compelling the investigative team to rely on footage retrieved from a private premises including Sagret Hotel, the deceased office block and Brookhouse International School.

“I would like the Cabinet Secretary to tell this house the steps that his Ministry is taking to strengthen community policing and enhance public cooperation in the prevention and reporting of crime,” asked Hamida.

Murkomen responded that the Ministry of Interior is revitalising Community Policing initiatives by establishing and supporting Nyumba Kumi Clusters, Community Policing Committees and dialogue forums that encourage continuous engagement between the officers and the public.

He said the Ministry has established dedicated hotlines such as Fichua Kwa DCI and also uses social media platforms to facilitate anonymous crime reporting with these channels enhancing communication with the public, improve information flow and keep citizens informed about safety initiatives.

“We have embraced community engagement forums such as Jukwaa la Usalama which has proven highly effective in fostering trust and cooperation, building on the positive impact of these forums, commanders have been encouraged in liaison with local administrators to replicate similar barazas,” said Murkomen.