In the recent past, Kenyans have been camping at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) social media pages to read reports on various criminal activities, thanks to the narration done therein.
As the time went by, the agency's communication team has been hailed for its competence and creativy contained in their lengthy social media posts.
The communication team comprising of 10 individuals is headed by Michael Mugo, the officer in charge of DCI's Corporate Communication and Public Affairs.
Speaking in an interview with TUKO, Mugo said the communication department had to reinvent their way of relaying information, noting that Kenyans are no longer moved with the conventional kind of reporting.
"How the language flows is another thing. The information has always been there as crime always happen. Incidences have been reported to the police OB for ages. What matters is how you report it
"If you report in the traditional manner that is supposed to, then no one will read," Mugo said.
Having joined the agency's communication unit in 2009, Mugo is a trained journalist and an alumnus of Moi University.
Edwin Kipkorir, a professional photographer and videographer is also part of the communication team and manages DCI's Twitter page while Mwanajuma Shame manages the agency's Facebook page.
As Kipkorir samples out the relevant messages that are forwarded to the authorities for further action, Shame on the other hand attends to the queries and concerns raised in Facebook inbox.
Shame is also behind Swahili posts on the agency's Facebook and Twitter pages.
"People love the way we do it in Swahili. They even recommend that we translate all the English posts to Swahili
"We always choose which one are to be posted in either of the two languages," Shame said.
Also part of the team is Jonah Kimani who is behind the captivating posts on the DCI social media pages.
His flair for using words to create the perfect imagery on Kenyans' minds on Twitter and Facebook has earned him recognition locally and internationally.
Kimani said they cooperate with their counterparts from the National Police Service who feed the DCI with crucial information that is, in turn, dispensed to the public.
"We give crime stories a reported in the police stations across the country. Our main source is the Occurrence Books manned by the police
"Every regional coordinator report to the DCI, before we check for the newsworthy reports that are reported to the public," he said.
In March 2021, Kimani was hailed by US newspaper, Washington Post, likening his tweets to a crime novel, further describing his writing as titillating and with a penchant for scandal.
In his interview with the US newspaper, Kimani said he always wanted to be a journalist adding that his interest in writing has enabled him to change the image of the DCI with his thrilling narrations.
“What I’ve learned is that people want thrills. You must feed your followers. That’s how the word gets out,” he said.
