23 June 2022 | UNDSS Comms
"You can never guard from the inside, you must always be outside regardless of the time and weather,” stated Ms. Rhoda Kinanu, Commissioner of Police and Commandant, Kenya Diplomatic Police Unit (DPU). “Our officers were having a rough time managing the outer gate of our police station under extreme weather conditions since we did not have a guard house.” In May 2022, the United Nations constructed a guard house and repaired the police station’s main gate to address the challenge. “The officers are now happy, and this translates to improved interactions with members of the diplomatic community in Kenya,” she said.
The DPU was formed as a unit of the Kenya National Police Service in 2005 and mandated to address the security concerns of the UN and diplomatic community. Operationally, the DPU engages in providing specialized security for diplomats, liaising with diplomatic missions on security matters, coordinating rapid responses, providing static and mobile security for diplomatic missions, and patrols in the vicinity of diplomatic missions and the blue zone (residential zone); traffic control and investigations into incidents involving diplomats. It has its operational and administrative headquarters in Nairobi and a field office in Mombasa.
Over the years, the relationship between UNDSS and this police unit has thrived enabling greater coordination. “We are constantly working on strengthening our cooperation with DPU to ensure that they can serve the UN community better and in a more comprehensive manner,” posited Silviu Buda, the UNDSS - DPU Liaison Officer. The UN over the years has engaged in capacity building supplementing the assets and capacities of the DPU including transportation, communications, fuel and other supplies. “Thanks to the vehicles and fuel donated by UN, we can now conduct 24 hours patrols within the blue zone and have since improved our response time,” Ms. Kinanu noted. The implementation and continued operation of the 24/7 DPU patrol programme provides an additional layer of security to Private Security Companies and security of the transit routes to and from UN offices and residences. Besides, the patrols have resulted in significant reduction in the number of criminal related activities affecting UN personnel in the blue zone.
Support for the UN entails an understanding of roles, including the mandates of the UN Country Team and partnerships with the Government of Kenya. “Our officers frequently attend trainings and workshops organized by UNDSS which sharpen our understanding of what the UN does and how UN security works,” added Ms. Kinanu. Recently, a batch of police officers benefitted from first aid training that was delivered by the UN Joint Medical Services. “We appreciate the constant support from the UN and in particular UNDSS. The partnership has made our work easier, and we are proud to be involved with matters of UN security,” concluded Ms. Kinanu.