NPS condemns viral video of GSU graduates

The police service has condemned a group of fresh General Service Unit (GSU) graduates who were captured in a video threatening civilians with gun violence once deployed.

Responding to the clip that has since gone viral, the National Police Service (NPS), in a statement released on Wednesday, described the graduates’ behaviour as “irresponsible, reckless and unacceptable”.

“(The) Attention of the National Police Service is drawn to a video clip circulating on social media depicting newly graduated General Service Unit (GSU) officers recording themselves as they make some irresponsible and reckless remarks,” the statement read.

In the video clip, the overly excited officers can be heard saying that they belong to squad 26, which they say is the most dangerous in the unit.

Some are seen gesturing gunshots with their hands.

“We wish to clarify and assure the public that the behaviour portrayed in the clip is not acceptable and does not reflect the values of the GSU, Kenya Police Service and the National Police Service,” the statement added.

Others can be heard shouting and bragging that they were no longer constrained in training camps.

No empty threats

“Na sio ati nini, hawa ni wale wazii (loosely translated to mean ‘these are no empty threats, we are dangerous),” one of the graduates shouts.

“All graduands went through a rigorous value-based training modelled on democratic policing principles and designed to make them responsive and responsible officers of the law at the service of citizens,” NPS said.

“The oath of allegiance they took as part of their graduation is a testament to the sanctity of their duty to service.”

“The remarks as made in the clip are therefore regrettable and stand condemned. An internal review is ongoing with a view of preferring appropriate measures regarding the incident. GSU is renowned for its focused training aimed at producing highly disciplined and responsible officers,” the statement said.

Serve the country with courage

The video emerged moments after President Uhuru Kenyatta presided over the 48th graduation parade of 2,502 GSU officers at the National Police College Embakasi B Campus in Nairobi on Wednesday.

The President tasked the new officers joining the NPS to serve the country with courage, integrity and discipline.

Acknowledging rampant cases of mental health issues in the force, he urged them to uphold the law and abide by the rules and regulations of the service while safeguarding the rights and freedoms of Kenyans.

“To serve successfully you must uphold the law, abide by all applicable rules and regulations, follow the orders of your superior officers and above all, commit to serving this nation with courage, integrity, discipline and honour,” President Kenyatta said.

There are concerns over rising suicide and murder cases among the men and women in uniform, with the latest incident happening in Kabete, Nairobi, where a police officer went on a shooting spree and killed his wife and five others before taking his own life.