Kisumu to install 2,500 CCTV cameras to curb insecurity
A view of Kisumu City from Lake Victoria.
What you need to know:
- Boda boda operators will also have their motorbikes fitted with GPS monitoring devices to track their movements.
- In March last year, the city management temporarily banned boda boda riders from operating in the upmarket Milimani suburb due to rising cases of insecurity.
Kisumu City is to install more than 2,500 CCTV cameras in major streets and residential areas to reduce crime and protect public property from vandalism.
The surveillance equipment, to be installed at bus stops and private buildings, will provide 24-hour monitoring and will be linked to a main control room.
Kisumu City Manager Abala Wanga said the cameras will be directly linked to the police to provide real-time images to help prevent crime.
"Once activated, technical staff will be recruited by the county government to monitor movements in risky spots in the city and all settlements to curb the rising crime rate," he said.
The cameras, which will be installed at strategic points, will be linked to street lights to ensure seamless surveillance from one estate to another.
Mr Wanga pointed out that the initiative will help track people committing various crimes to their final destination.
The project is being funded under the Urban Resilience Mass Transport Initiative by the World Bank-funded Kisumu Urban Project.
The security measure will also involve the registration of boda boda operators and the fitting of their motorbikes with GPS monitoring devices to track their movements.
Mr Wanga noted that the move was in response to a surge in criminal activities associated with boda boda operators.
He expressed concern that more than 90 per cent of the crimes committed in the lakeside city are linked to boda boda riders.
"Wherever there is crime or robbery, you will always find a boda boda person.
"That is why we want them to be registered with the GPS system so that they can be monitored by the CCTV cameras," said Mr Wanga.
In March last year, the city management temporarily banned boda boda riders from operating in the upmarket Milimani suburb due to rising cases of insecurity.
Mr Wanga also noted that the installation of CCTV cameras will also help track down non-compliant operators in the wake of a new county directive that has re-routed public transport.
Under the new directive, vehicles coming from Busia and Bondo will make a detour at the Paramount area and come to Mamba before heading to the main bus park via Ondiek Road, while municipal vehicles will drop off passengers at the Patel roundabout and will not be allowed to enter the CBD.
In Kisumu, 53 per cent of daily trips are made on foot, 4 per cent by bicycle, 13 per cent by matatu, 3 per cent by tuk tuk, 13 per cent by boda boda, 6 per cent by motorcycle and 6 per cent by car.
