An Insider reveals roles played by the disbanded DCI Special Service Unit (SSU)
Roles played by the disbanded Directorate of Criminal Investigation-DCI Special Service Unit (SSU).
The Special Service Unit (SSU) of the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), which has since been dismantled, was a group that was trusted to solve complex crimes.
The group was an improved version of the Special Crimes Prevention Unit (SCPU), which had previously been overhauled in 2019 by former DCI George Kinoti.
The majority of the officers presently employed by the disbanded unit previously worked for the SCPU and the defunct Flying Squad.
The team members are often chosen from the regular duty staff, DCI, and General Service Unit of the units.
Because of the nature of their work, they are typically considered to be elite.
Police personnel assigned to special units stand out from their normal duty counterparts.
For instance, they don’t wear uniforms and drive unmarked vehicles that occasionally have license plates from other countries.
Additionally, even though they are expected to have their beards clean-shaven while on duty, members of the crack units frequently wear baggy pants, trendy T-shirts, dreadlock-styled hair, and long beards in case they need to go undercover.
Since the majority of their missions are similar to those of hit squads, the unit officers typically do not appear in court to provide testimony.
In a majority of the cases, they are not sent to make arrests because their missions involve the exchange of fire that often ends in the deaths of suspects.
According to an insider, the disbanded special unit was relied on to respond to any murder incident involving violent criminals on the run or unsolved issues and even terrorism.
They were mainly involved in quelling the Mungiki menace from 2007 until 2019 when they were reorganized.
In this period, up to 300 people believed to have been members of the banned group disappeared or died mysteriously in shootings or were found dead on roads and thickets.
“These are crack units that are relied on to deal with some of the complicated issues that are a thorn to governments,” said one of the officers who served in the unit.
In 2012, the team backed up others in seizing six suicide bomber vests, 12 grenades and four AK-47s with more than a dozen loaded magazines from a house in Eastleigh that were meant to be used in a terror attack in Nairobi.
Officials said then they thwarted a major planned terror attack.
The unit has also solved dozens of violent murders and robberies in the country after they were sent there by their bosses.
“They are a standby team to act on some of these incidents in any part of the country. They can even fly to the scene depending on the nature of the incident,” added another official.
The official praised their work so far and argued lack of proper management and control can lead to chaos within.
With its special training, the squad is said to have silenced terror gangs by either killing them or forcing them into exile.
Action on SSU appears to have been prompted by the disappearance of two Indians and their driver on July 24, 2022.
All of the SSU’s officers were disarmed on Saturday and summoned to DCI Headquarters for further guidance.
Human rights activists have called for a probe because there have been accusations that police were engaged in the deaths.
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