One-on-one with Shioso, the KCGS director-general

President William Ruto’s appointment of former Kiganjo Police Training College main campus commandant Bruno Shioso to head the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS) in May this year raised more questions than answers.

For the first time, a serving police officer had been appointed to head a government agency that had hitherto been perceived as a department of the Kenya Defence Force (KDF). And besides causing some jitters within the military, where a section believed only a service person deserved to hold the position, Shioso's appointment also raised questions over the mandate of KCGS

Question: You were a senior police officer at the time of your appointment as KCGS director  general. Are you still a police officer or you retired from the Kenya Police Service upon the appointment?

Answer: I am still a police officer but currently serving KCGS as DG under appointment and pleasure of the President. And that’s legal as per statute.

Question: There has been criticism from some quarters that a police officer should not have been appointed to head an agency that was started and has always been managed by officers from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF). There have also been reservations about the choice of your uniform, which has some semblance with the Kenya Navy’s. What is observation over the two issues?

Answer: I also heard of the criticism, saw them being peddled around the mainstream and social media. Problem: no basic research was involved. Everything was legal and proper. The rest were personal opinions. Uniforms keep on changing whenever they conflict between two or more agencies. When a conflict is noticed, it gets sorted out. That’s a non issue as for now.

Question: During your appointment, there arose the issue of command structure with some insiders in the military questioning how you would be able to command operations of a ship being handled by the Kenya Navy personnel in an operation. It was also said that you were junior to have been offered an opportunity to replace a brigadier. What do you have to say?

Answer: Ship(s) are some of the assets under my command. The question should be about command of people, not assets or platforms controlled by human beings. For the avoidance of doubt, all the assets under my charge are well deployed and doing a terrific job to keep our territorial waters secure and safe. We are not doing defense operations but law enforcement work of keeping law and order on the waters. But I am not aware of the “insiders” part.

Question. Which specific Ministry does the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS) fall under and does its Director General report to the Inspector General of Police?

Answer: Great question for the benefit of the public. KCGS is an independent Service established by statute, and structurally domiciled within the ministry of interior and national administration. It’s under the operational command of the Director General oversighted by a Council chaired by the CS interior. Selected CSs, service commanders and senior officers are members of the Council. Below the Council is a Technical Committee chaired by PS interior which guides the DG on routine business.

Question: Does KCGS have investigative, arrest, and prosecutorial powers? What role does the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) play in the operations of KCGS, if any?

Answer: Yes. We are a law enforcement agency with all accruing powers to enable us perform, including prosecutions. We have a framework with the DPP who oversees prosecution of our matters.

Question: Looking at the KCGS Act 2018, the agency comes across a multi-agency with its mandate overlapping roles of several government bodies. How does it operate and is it not a duplication of duties with other state agencies like National Police Service, Kenya Wildlife Service, Anti-Narcotics Unit, Kenya Navy, National Environment Management Authority, Marine police?

Answer: A plain reading of the Act may presuppose an overlap in mandates and functions with other maritime law enforcement agencies, yet the reality is that KCGS is a cross-pollinator of a kind, complementing the efforts of all the other agencies, and also enriching other maritime law enforcers with generic police powers that were earlier deficient within the domain. Finally, KCGS is a catalyst, bridging relationships and breaking hitherto law enforcement silos that negatively impacted maritime law enforcement effectiveness and efficiencies back then. Now it’s common to see agencies talking to each other and working jointly on joint maritime operations, courtesy of KCGS leadership and linkages.

Question: What are some of the high profile cases KCGS has handled and possibly successfully ended in conviction?

Answer: We don’t simply focus on detected cases to measure our performance. Our role is wider, and includes creating awareness through sensitisation to publics, especially fisher-folk on sustainable methods of plying their trade, creating strategic engagements with development partners to better understand the maritime domain awareness including other relevant capabilities, etc.

But to answer the questions, the Service has mitigated tensions that were persistent around Migingo Island pitting Kenyan fishermen against Ugandan security agencies through collaborative engagements with our counterparts, has invested much capital and resources in enhancing safety standards on our waters, contributes towards overall mercantile trade by neutralising sea based threats, is routinely involved in preventive actions to thwart maritime organised crime especially trafficking in persons, drug smuggling, etc.

Equally, premium is placed on building search and rescue capabilities as a response capacity to maritime incidents. Much has been achieved within the short duration of the Agency’s existence, and more shall be covered. Internationally, the spotlight is now on how other coast guards are keen to work with us on many areas of our interest and to our benefit.

Question: Do you ever encounter problems of KCGS being accused of overlapping its mandate and interfering with the affairs of other agencies?

Answer: We don’t have this challenge. One, we stick to our mandate well elaborated by statute. Two, we are alive to the need for agencies to synergies and work collaboratively. This is out of the wider whole-of-government approach, and specifically, the spirit of a multi-agency team working for the benefit of the larger national objective of a secure and law-abiding nation.

Question: . Where do you envisage KCGS to get during your tenure?

Answer: I want to do my bit, the best way I can. I aspire to build a reputable brand, one that can stand out within the third world, more so the western Indian Ocean. I want to build more sustainable strategic partnerships of value addition.

And above all, I want my legacy to revolve around handing over a learning organisation that plays its key role in enabling the blue economy that can transform our economy and lives. And I won’t do it alone.

I will be assisted in this aspiration by the very competent team that am honoured to lead. And in this legacy conversation, the fisher-folk and the coastal and lake communities shall be at the centre.

I want them to have a better understanding of maritime domain awareness, and how they could optimise their gains legally. That’s the bottoms-up blue economy model from the enforcement perspective.

Question: Reports indicate that KCGS draws its staff from several state agencies undertaking some of the roles it does. How do you manage to harness all this diverse team together for effective service delivery? Don’t some of the staff end up owing allegiance to their parent agencies?

Answer: It boils down to transformative leadership. This starts with leading by example. Then modelling my staff to stick to the character and value system of the Service. In fact to me I regard diversity as a strength rather than a weakness.

I get things done in real-time that could have been reaching out to other agencies for input. For me, I got all diversified knowledge and skills under one roof. We call these comparative advantages and not competition as many may see. We focus on the mandate as the end state, not our parent agencies.