Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI) George Kinoti has revealed that bosses from Citizen TV would be summoned alongside investigative reporter Purity Mbwambia over the Guns Galore exposé.
Speaking during a press conference at DCI headquarters on Tuesday, April 20, Kinoti thanked the station for surrendering the illegal firearms but decried that the journalists did not collaborate with his office while carrying out the undercover operation.
The DCI disclosed that the station's Editorial Director and Head of Strategy and Innovations would be invited to shed more light on the situation.
"The allegations made in this report are extremely serious. It is also apparent that crimes relating to unlawful possession of firearms may have been committed in the context of this report.
"We shall be asking the editorial director, Director Strategy Innovation and other relevant reporters of the Royal Media Services to at least come and give us more insight to this report in pursuit of the criminals who have been harbouring this weapons here," stated Kinoti.
"Thank Royal Media for committing themselves in a letter which they surrendered the weapons and uniforms to DCI," he added.
The DCI boss was also aggrieved with the nature in which the report was compiled noting that his office and that of the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai were not contacted.
He explained that it was important for the collaboration in case the undercover work could have been gone wrong, the officers could provide protection.
Kinoti suggested that, during the report's preparation, the journalists should have approached the Internal Affairs Unit or the Independent Police Oversight Authority. The organisations have anonymous reporting channels.
"The report failed basic test of journalistic ethic and standards and was structured in what seemed a deliberate and malicious attempt to discredit and humiliate the police service.
"We never refused to any operations being carried by you. This could be a fantastic operation if at least you could have put us on board. The moment you have received a piece of information where we can recover a firearm, please don't be cheated it was okay to be done the way it was done. It was dangerous," continued Kinoti.
He, however, praised Citizen TV for the report carried by Purity Wambia that had been in the pipeline for a year before the report was made public on Sunday, April 18.
In the chilling expose, Mwambia and her crew revealed how police officers aided crime syndicates by leasing out their weapons and uniforms to thugs.
This elicited mixed reactions from Kenyans online as some lauded the reporter for her brave and yet heroic reporting. Others, however, criticised Mwambia for implicating certain police officers in the alleged criminal activities.
