Kenya police, Chinese gov’t launch surveillance centre to monitor SGR

The National Police Service (NPS), in collaboration with the Chinese government, on Wednesday unveiled a new state-of-the-art surveillance centre that will be used to monitor the Nairobi-Mombasa railway line.

The centre, which is fitted with high-end CCTV cameras, also received a number of vehicles from the Chinese government to allow officers stationed at the facility to respond quickly to any instances of vandalism captured on the surveillance system.

The commissioning ceremony was presided over by Deputy Inspector General of Police Edward Mbugua and China’s ambassador to Kenya Zhou Phingjian.

According to Mbugua, the launch of the centre will play a vital role in deterring cases of vandalism which have continuously affected key infrastructure projects in the country.

“The DIG-KPS (Mbugua) thanked the Chinese Government for the donation of motor vehicles to the Service, adding that they will greatly enhance NPS mobility,” NPS said in a statement.

On his part, Ambassador Pingjian lauded the country’s police force for its continued support in ensuring the safety of Chinese officials currently working on infrastructure projects in the country.

Cases of vandalism on the track have been on the rise in recent years with the most recent occurrence in November 2021 leading to the arrest of two scrap metal dealers and one lorry driver who allegedly stole 22 railway gauge blocks from the track.