Police in Lamu have arrested a man suspected of flying unmanned aircraft popularly referred to as drone above a police post in the region. As per reports from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI), officers who were on duty at the center noticed an object hovering above the compound, which was later confirmed to be unmanned aircraft upon doing some investigations. This led the officers to quickly begin investigations that would later end up with the suspect in custody.
According to initial details, the officers were told the suspect had traveled from Mombasa to Lamu to visit relatives. Report from the DCI further explains the suspect was undergoing additional interrogation to ascertain veracity of his claims as well as the motive behind it. Kenya is at its initial stages in passing regulations with regards to drone operations in the country and so far, stake holders have been invited to provide opinion on the same.
The DCI was quick to mention that a police station was amongst gazetted jurisdictions that must be observed as high security areas. Therefore, the public is advised to avoid such places, more so airspace above them. The officers cautioned the public that such places are restricted from anything that could compromise security such as flying drones above them.
According to the new regulations, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority indicated that unmanned aircrafts referred to as drones are prohibited from these places. This is according to a legal notice 76 that was signed last year on March 26th.
The notice stipulates a jail term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding Ksh. 100,000 or both for persons found to be in violation. This notice however excludes drones operated by the Kenyan government.