Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced sweeping reforms targeting police station infrastructure, officer uniforms, and promotion policies.
Speaking on Thursday during the closing of the OCS Consultative Conference at the National Police Leadership Academy (NPLA) in Ngong, Murkomen revealed that the government will allocate funds in the next supplementary budget to redesign police stations across the country.
Under the new model, every police station will be required to include essential facilities such as gender desks, OCS offices, desks for handling child-related cases, CCTV surveillance, and secure armouries. The CS emphasized that ICT equipment will also be mandatory to ensure fully functional and modernized stations.
The Department of Public Works and TVET institutions will lead the redesign in collaboration with the police leadership under Inspector General Douglas Kanja. The first phase will prioritize the construction of 300 new stations before rolling out the model nationwide.
“We do not want a situation where people are constructing their own versions of police stations. We will work with relevant boards to ensure every new facility is complete and standardized,” Murkomen noted.
On recruitment, the CS confirmed that official dates will be announced by Monday, with the exercise scheduled to take place in September, in line with President William Ruto’s directive.
New Police Uniforms
Murkomen further disclosed that all police officers and National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) will soon receive new uniforms after extensive consultations. For the first time, female officers will also be issued with maternity uniforms to prevent them from taking unnecessary leave due to ill-fitting attire.
“I have instructed IG Kanja to consider maternity uniforms for female officers,” he stated.
Promotions and Motivation
Addressing promotions, Murkomen said the ministry is drafting a legal framework to guide career progression, remuneration, and schemes of service. He stressed that stagnation demoralizes officers, proposing that corporals with 15 years of service and constables aged 50 years should be promoted on merit.
The framework will also provide clarity on transfers and define how long an officer may serve in one station. In addition, Murkomen directed senior police leadership to develop a reward scheme to recognize outstanding officers, with proposals expected soon.
