Ruto hints at hiring of 10,000 police officers

By Cyrus Ombati

Nairobi, Kenya: The Government will recruit 10,000 additional police officers to bolster security in the country.

It will also move to hire vehicles to cushion the challenge of movement being faced by the force.

This was revealed by Deputy President William Ruto when he met the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA).

“We have a serious challenge in the police force as pertains personnel and transport,” he said in his office.

“We are talking to Treasury to see if it is possible to hire additional 10,000 officers to increase the numbers,” he added.

Currently, there are 7,000 recruits undergoing training.

Ruto said the Government was trying to cost the cheaper option between leasing of vehicles vis a vis buying new ones.

The Government could hire up to 1,300 vehicles which will be deployed to Officers Commanding Stations in the country.

The Deputy President said many police vehicles were grounded because of minor repairs and this had cost the country millions of shillings.

“We want the police to do what they are trained to; to-provide security. Minor issues like repairing vehicles should not bog them down,” said Ruto.

The increase of population, he added, had caused a challenge to the police numbers. He said if the 17,000 officers are released to the public it would help boost the security situation.

The Deputy President said police deployed in areas affected by recent insecurity had reported progress.

IPOA was led by its chairman Macharia Njeru who said the authority will soon launch its report. He said the authority was looking for ways to have the police force introduce performance monitoring of officers.