President Uhuru Kenyatta has appointed Brigadier Vincent Naisho Loonena as the first Director General of the Kenya Coast Guard Service, in an acting capacity.
Loonena has worked with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) for over 20 years and is the immediate former managing director of the Defence Forces Medical Insurance Scheme. The special force will man the country’s maritime territories and it will be formally launched on November 19 by President Kenyatta at Liwatoni in Mombasa.
“Brigadier Loonena takes up the new job after an illustrious career of over 20 years within the Kenya Defence Forces-Navy. His last post was the managing director of Defence forces medical insurance, a position in which he has served for four months,” said a statement from the Ministry of Interior yesterday evening.
It is estimated that Kenya loses Sh10billion in revenue annually due to illegal and criminal activities at sea and the coastal guard is expected to keep Kenya’s seashores safe from aggression and illegal commercial activities.
The highly special service will be headquartered at Liwatoni in Mombasa but it will have a strong presence at the Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu ports.
The Coast Guard Act 2018 established the Kenya Coast Guard Service, which is responsible for enforcing maritime security and safety, pollution control and sanitation measures and prosecuting offenders.
The Coast Guard Service will comprise personnel drawn from the police, the army and intelligence services and civilian professionals seconded from the Public Service Commission.
“The service shall have powers to stop, enter and board search and inspect any structure, place, vessel or aircraft,” notes the law.
The Act was operationalized on October 22 this year when Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i gazetted the law.
The Kenya Coast Guard service Act also puts in place the coast guard service council, which is the apex governance body of the service.
Coast Guard Service Council, in charge of the guard, will be chaired by the Interior CS Dr Fred Matiang’i.
It will comprise of multi-agency security teams and Cabinet Secretaries, including Amb. Raychelle Omamo (Defense), Keriako Tobiko (Environment and Forestry), and James Macharia (Transport, Infrastructure, Housing & Urban Development).
“Other members are: Chief of the Kenya Defence Forces, Gen. Samson Mwathethe, the Inspector General of the National Police Service, Joseph Boinett, the Attorney General, Paul Kihara Kariuki, and representatives from the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Fisheries among others,” reads the statement.