The recently disbanded Special Services Unit (SSU) in the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) will be investigated, President William Ruto has said.
Speaking Thursday afternoon during the Mashujaa Day fete held at Uhuru Gardens, President Ruto said that he had directed that immediate measures be undertaken to disband the unit.
The head of state had recently linked the DCI team to the extra-judicial killings that have been witnessed in the recent past.
The team was disbanded through an order issued by the acting Inspector General of Police Noor Gabow, with its members being recalled to the DCI headquarters.
President Ruto now says that investigations must commence so that those found culpable are held accountable.
“I have directed that immediate measures be undertaken to disband the Special Services Unit in the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and with urgency investigations must commence so that those found culpable are held accountable,” President Ruto said.
The members of the DCI SSU team were relied on to respond to any murder incident involving violent criminals on the run or unsolved issues and even terrorism.
It was a revamped team from an earlier one that was referred to as Special Crimes Prevention Unit (SCPU), which was reorganized in 2019 by former DCI George Kinoti.
Most officers now serving in the disbanded unit had served in SCPU and the defunct Flying Squad for years.
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.
And the move to disband SSU did not come as a surprise to many. They anticipated it after the new government took over.