Didacus Malowa, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

- The National Police Service (NPS) has set its sights on modernising, adopting digital practices in its operations.

In one of the most transformative shifts, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja announced that the next round of police recruitment will be conducted online for the first time in history.

The country’s top cop said this bold move is aimed at restoring credibility and enhancing transparency in the long-criticised recruitment process.

Kanja made the announcement while appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity and Regional Integration on Friday, May 9.

The IG told senators that the online platform would help eliminate corruption and irregularities that have long plagued police recruitment drives across the country.

According to Kanja, the decision to digitise the process is grounded in the need to seal loopholes that have allowed bribery, nepotism, and favouritism to thrive during past recruitment exercises.

By leveraging technology, he said, the NPS hopes to ensure that only deserving, qualified candidates make it through the initial stages of the selection process.

"The numbers that turn up for these recruitments are actually overwhelming. Corruption in the police listing services, especially during the recruitment must come to an end. The way we can be able to deal with that is through actual leverage on technology. Because once we do that, the gaps are closed," Kanja said.

This will mark the first nationwide police recruitment since 2021, ending a three-year freeze that has slowed the entry of new personnel into the service.

Kanja attributed the hiatus to severe financial constraints that have hampered the service's ability to conduct recruitment at the required scale.

He explained that while plans were in place to meet staffing needs, budgetary limitations had forced postponements year after year.

But while the online recruitment announcement was met with cautious optimism, IG Kanja found himself on the defensive when pressed about the persistent failure to meet gender diversity targets and concerns over ethnic imbalances.

One of the committee’s most pointed questions revolved around the NPS’s continued failure to meet the constitutional requirement that at least 30% of recruits be women.

The service, however, acknowledged the shortfall and promised progress in meeting the elusive threshold.

"The key word is progressive; we are not yet there because we are aware it’s supposed to be 30% as far as Article 27(8)of the Kenyan Constitution is concerned," he said.

Article 27(8) of the Constitution mandates affirmative action to redress historical injustices and ensure representation of women and other marginalised groups. Yet, the police service has repeatedly fallen short of this benchmark.

The issue of ethnic dominance within the ranks of the police service also surfaced, with several committee members questioning why certain communities appear to be overrepresented.

But Kanja sidestepped direct engagement on the matter, stating that such information was sensitive and classified.

"I would request that some of the figures we are going to give because this is a security agency," he said, urging the committee to handle the matter delicately in the interest of national security.

Elsewhere, Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo announced that the Kenyan government is prioritising mental health in its police reforms.

He noted that while past reforms focused on salaries and working conditions, mental well-being had been overlooked.

Omollo highlighted incidents where officers harmed themselves or colleagues, attributing such cases to job-related stress.

To address this, the police training curriculum at Kiganjo Police Training College will now include mental health support to help officers manage stress.

Source: TUKO.co.ke