General Service Unit (Kenya)

General Service Unit (GSU)
General Service Unit police cordon off Uhuru Park to bar opposition from holding their mass protest rally, January 2008.
General Service Unit police cordon off Uhuru Park to bar opposition from holding their mass protest rally, January 2008.
Agency overview
FormedAugust, 1953
Preceding agency
  • Emergency Company or Regular Police Reserve
Employees≈6000 (2003)[1]
Operational structure
HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
Agency executive
  • Eliud Lagat Saig, Commandant
Parent agencyKenya Police Service
GSU officers in a parade.

The General Service Unit (GSU) is a paramilitary wing (i.e. Police Field Force) in the Kenya Police Service, consisting of highly trained police officers, transported by seven dedicated Cessnas and three Bell helicopters.[1][2] Having been in existence since 1948, the GSU has fought in a number of conflicts in and around Kenya, including the 1963 – 1969 Shifta War and the 1982 Kenyan coup.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Kenya – Security Information". Institute for Security Studies. Archived from the original on 16 June 2008.
  2. ^ "General Service Unit". Kenya Police Service. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  3. ^ Sabar p. 181