MP INSPIRES COMMUNITY POLICING BOOSTING SECURITY IN NAIROBI
By Tim Sande,
Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi is synonymous with creativity, innovation and development. A key strategic objective of the soft spoken legislator is the enhancement of security of Westlands residents through multi-stakeholder pronged approaches.
Security advocacy, know your neighbour campaign, police housing and community policy are part of his underlying interventions to effect this.
Police is My Brother initiative is a good case study. Initiated at Kibagare informal settlement, at-risk youth are often meeting with police in an informal setting and engaging in clean ups and sharing a meal.
Through this, both groups get in touch with each other’s humanity. The program aims at developing authentic relationships between the two groups with a hope of erasing suspicion and mistrust.
More than 300 youth have reformed. Extra judicial killings of the youth are almost a foregone issue. Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi is always at the forefront of such initiatives to enhance this collaboration.
Peter Wainaina-SHARP, a key facilitator of the program, states that the initiative aims at building the relationship between the community and law enforcement.
Police housing upgrade is a second case study. Through the Westlands NG-CDF and other partners, the Westlands MP is continuously facilitating the building of police housing units, chief camps and police stations.
18 police houses have been built at Runda Police Station (8), Spring Valley Police Station (6) and Kangemi Administration Police Camp (4). Furthermore, the MP has facilitated the upgrading of at least 6 houses at Parklands police station and 10 houses at Westlands Administration Police Camp.
The decent housing has not only boosted the morale of police officers residing at the stations but also increased the stations capacity to initiate directed patrols as well as to promptly respond to security concerns.
Initiatives such as Police are my Brother Initiative has enhanced community policing and strengthened security in the neighbourhoods.
Westlands and its neighbourhoods of Parklands, Highridge, Kitisuru, Mountain View, Runda, Muthaiga, Githogoro, Kangemi, Kibagare, Lower Kabete, Ndumbuini and City Park boast of safer and more secure environment.
