Interior Cabinet Secretary, Kithure Kindiki, on Thursday, November 17, announced changes in the operations of chiefs in their administrative functions.
Kindiki, who spoke during an impromptu visit to a chief’s office in Mtwapa, Kilifi County, noted that the government was considering placing five police officers under the command of each chief.
”We are working towards reorganizing ourselves between the administrative officers and the police to ensure every chief has police officers attached under them to enable them to enforce law and order effectively,” Kindiki stated.
The considerations, according to the CS will be effected by early 2023 as part of the government plan to make the 3950 chiefs and their 9043
assistants more effective but also accountable to the public.
He, nonetheless, allayed concerns that placing police under chiefs’ command could return the country to the dark dictatorial days.
"We will strike a fine balance between power and responsibilities. We are going to improve their working environment to make sure they deliver security and are able to articulate government policy more clearly and more effectively by supporting them as they deliver their services.
"The government will stand with them and work with them to ensure that we deliver security," Kindiki assured.
“We are working towards reorganising ourselves between the National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) and the police to ensure, as it was before, that every chief has police officers attached to them to enable them to be able to enforce law and order.”
Kindiki directed the administrators to keep a daily register of services provided to members of the public. The register will, according to Kindiki, be stored in drives to track the activities of the administrators systematically.
Chiefs will also share work plans through the dedicated drive. The changes, Kindiki added, would help foster professionalism in national administrative officers' operations.
“We want to ensure our NGAOs have the right environment to attend to citizens because they are the government’s eyes on the ground,” the professor emphasised.
President William Ruto had pledged to institute reforms in the Provincial Administration system by reviewing their terms of service.
In addition, the President promised a departure from past trends where chiefs and other administrative officers were accused of playing politics, compromising their independence.
The position was also asserted by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who reiterated that Ruto's government would ensure the independence of chiefs and refrain from using them for political expediency.
"President William Ruto's government has no intention to use you in its politics," Gachgua noted during a function in Kirinyaga.
The functions of chiefs, as outlined in the Chiefs Act, include maintaining law and order in their jurisdictions. Further, the law also grants chiefs the power to arrest lawbreakers.
