Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has unveiled a raft of sweeping reforms touching on police stations, officer uniforms, and promotion procedures.
Speaking on Thursday during the closing ceremony of the OCS’s Consultative Conference at the National Police Leadership Academy (NPLA) in Ngong, Murkomen revealed that funds will be set aside in the next supplementary budget to redesign police stations across the country.
He explained that under the new design, all police stations will be required to house essential facilities, including gender desks, OCS offices, desks for handling child-related incidents, as well as CCTV surveillance systems. Properly secured armouries will also be part of the new blueprint.
“For all new police stations, the specifications should include ICT equipment so that we have fully functional police stations across the country,” Murkomen stated.
The redesign will be spearheaded by the Department of Public Works and TVET institutions, which will collaborate with the police leadership under the Inspector General. The plan seeks to modernise existing structures while ensuring uniformity in new constructions.
According to Murkomen, the government will prioritise the construction of 300 police stations in the first phase, to eventually roll out the new model nationwide.
“We do not want a situation where people are constructing their own version of police stations. We are going to sit together with various boards so that when we construct, we construct prosperity—something that is complete,” he noted.
On recruitment, Murkomen announced that the ministry will issue official dates by Monday, with the exercise expected to take place within September, as directed earlier by President William Ruto.
Uniforms Changes
The CS further disclosed that all police officers and National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) will soon receive new uniforms, following extensive consultations with officers countrywide.
He added that female officers will now be provided with maternity uniforms to ensure they are not forced to take leave when pregnant due to ill-fitting attire. “I have instructed IG Kanja to consider introducing maternity uniforms for police officers,” Murkomen affirmed.
On promotions, the CS emphasised that the ministry is preparing a legal framework that will guide progression, remuneration, and schemes of service.
He stated that corporals who have served for 15 years and constables who are 50 years old should be promoted on merit, noting that stagnation in ranks demoralises officers.
Additionally, the upcoming law will provide clarity on transfers and the length of service officers can spend in one station.
Murkomen also directed senior leadership to create a reward scheme to recognise and motivate exemplary officers, with proposals expected to be presented to the ministry soon.
