Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has hinted at a move that could change the way the Kenya Police Service method of recruiting.
Reports from the Daily Nation on Tuesday, December 17, indicated that from 2020, the service would start recruiting specialist cadets in a bid to promote professionalism and specialization in the service, as per the Matiang'i's promise.
The change would signal the first time in the police service history that such a move would be launched, with specialist officers mostly being associated with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
"We will start picking specialists as cadet police officers for special duties. The first team selected will begin a rigorous eight-month training course," Matiang'i was quoted.
Matiang'i made the sentiments during the graduation parade of 1,224 police officers at the Kenya Police Training College (KPTC) in Kiganjo, Nyeri County, where he represented President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The police department has undergone intense changes during Matiangi's tenure, one of the most significant being the digitization of police operations and the introduction of the Digital Occurrence Book (OB).
Matiang'i, at the event, promised to institute more changes at the service to ensure that effective and quality services were delivered to the people by the police service.
"Everything else in terms of digitization of the NPS is going on well. We will make it compulsory for future training programs to incorporate the component of Information and Communications technology," he stated.
It was also during Matiang'i's tenure that the country witnessed its first-ever all-female Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) in August 2019, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa and will be tasked with handling organised crime in Kenya.
Matiang'i was accompanied by the Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho, Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai and Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti and other senior government officials to the event in Kiganjo.
