Police officers will no longer be sent to frontier counties and pastoralist areas as a form of punishment.
Speaking in Tana River County during his Coast chapter of the nationwide Jukwaa la Usalama tour, Interior Cabinet Secretary Onesimus Kipchumba Murkomen announced that the government had adopted a policy against assigning officers to challenging regions as a disciplinary measure.
The CS made the remarks after a meeting with County Commissioners, emphasizing that cases of indiscipline should be addressed through proper legal procedures.
“When someone is found to be drunk or indisciplined, they are told, ‘You’ll go to Tana River.’ That should never be the case,” said Murkomen.
He stated that officers serving in remote or high-risk areas need to feel encouraged and appreciated, knowing they are serving their country. He added that timely transfers would help boost morale.
“A motivated workforce is the key to better service to Wananchi. We are therefore firmly on course with our modernization program which includes police and administrators’ welfare,” said CS Murkomen.
Murkomen stressed the importance of implementing a rotation policy, allowing officers to serve in challenging areas for a period of three, or at most four years, before being reassigned to less demanding posts.
At the same time, the CS reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the welfare of police officers.
“To address welfare issues, I’m here to ensure that when we return to Nairobi, the operational structure of the police will be adjusted to protect all officers, including our NGAO officers, wherever they are deployed,” he said.
He reiterated that improving officers’ working conditions remains a priority.
“As makeshift as this structure may appear, if this is the office, I can’t imagine where they live or sleep. It must be even worse. Unfortunately, while we continue expanding our offices in Nairobi and other towns, we don’t have even a single proper office to serve our officers here,” he added.