Machakos Governor, Alfred Mutua, on Wednesday gave the police force a priceless gift when he handed them stylish new houses.
Located at the Athi River Police Station, Mavoko Sub County, the houses are a considerable upgrade from previous police house designs that left a lot to be desired.
The Machakos Governor commemorated the completion of the police housing project by hosting a handover ceremony in which he invited newly appointed Inspector General (IG) of Police, Hilary Mutyambai.
"Receiving IG Mutyambai during the official handover of newly constructed senior police houses to the National Police Service (NPS) at the Athi-River police station," Mutua tweeted.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the Machakos Governor stated that his county had decided to set up and donate the 5 new 2-3 bedroom houses, adding that they were also working on a new wing for junior officers.
The move was driven by the need to provide the officers with a comfortable place to call home, which they would have otherwise been unable to access, based on current market rates compared to their salaries.
He went on to assert that he would continue championing for the cause of the common officers, who he felt deserved a bump in their basic pay and housing allowances.
He added that the security officer's daily duties involved a lot of risks yet they do it without flinching, noting that this fact alone warranted and justified the push for an increase in their basic wages alongside the spacious homes.
"My heart has always been torn whenever I see the living conditions of some of our officers. Which is why I have endeavoured as a citizen to build houses for them and have done so quietly in several places in Kenya," he disclosed.
Governor Mutua also stated that his government had dedicated itself to undertake a new project of rehabilitating dilapidated police stations within the county to ensure that residents were served better.
He called upon his fellow politicians to shelve their recent push for exorbitant housing allowances, urging them to instead transfer such privileges to the security personnel who laid their lives on the line every day to keep them safe.
"If the economy is not able to increase housing allowances for police officers, then it is not able to increase housing allowances for MPs, Governors or even the President. Kenya needs to be a fair country that takes care of all of us and not just leaders," Mutua tweeted.
On their part, the NPS revealed that the Machakos County Government had in the past donated several motor vehicles to the police, installed street lights and CCTV cameras in urban parts of the County which greatly helped the police in the fight against crime.
Here are a few more photos of the new police houses:
