Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Internal Security PS Raymond Omollo have proposed the National Government Coordination (Administrative Units) Regulations, 2025, a Bill aiming to recognize and streamline village elder leadership in the country.
In an official commentary, the two leaders argued that while village elders are an integral part of grassroots leadership, a number of them were tainting their reputations by covering up crimes, which necessitates the need to recognise these leaders officially.
According to Murkomen, several grave cases like sexual abuse, and even deaths go unanswered in the villages in the name of 'out of court' settlements by the village elders, leaving families who have lost kin in those manners living with the pain without getting the justice they deserve.
In the new proposed Bill, the leaders seek to officially recognize village elders and have them institutionalised within the National Government Administrative Officers (NGAOs) framework.
This aims to fish out those rogue elders who are not complying with the law and improve grassroots leadership.
In the new Bill, the Interior Ministry will be redefining the roles of the village elders, to give a clear role and job description to each of them.
Among the new roles proposed are mediating, public verification and documentation, security and intelligence gathering, and government policy and implementation.
Other roles are social welfare and community development, where they would identify vulnerable individuals for government assistance and training, and capacity building.
''From our perspective, and from the overwhelming memoranda we received from the public and our stakeholders, by anchoring the elders’ work in law, the policy will not only empower them to play a more active role in governance, justice, and security but also will draw a clear line between customary dispute resolution and matters that demand formal legal intervention,'' the two security leaders explained.
The new roles of the village elders also come with a stipend or allowance for village elders, marking a significant shift in their formal recognition. The leaders have yet to reveal the exact amount the elders will be paid.
These changes in village leadership are among the Ministry's broader strategies for the creation and operationalisation of new administrative units across Kenya.
The government plans to operationalise 1,105 new administrative units, including 24 sub-counties, 88 divisions, 318 locations, and 675 sub-locations.
