Maraga taskforce reveals deep rot in Kenya's police service

Taskforce Chair Rtd Chief Justice David Maraga during the launch of National Taskforce on improvement of the terms and conditions of service and other reforms for members of the National Police service and Kenya Prisons at the Supreme Court,Nairobi. January 10th,2023 [Elvis Ogina,Standard]

The National Police Service (NPS) suffers a malignant cancer of corruption that begins at the recruitment level, where majority of slots are handed over to wealthy individuals, Members of Parliament, Cabinet officials, and top police officers, a report by retired Chief Justice David Maraga task force has said.

This practice, so entrenched in the service has left only a few positions for Kenyans to win on merit and despite qualifying, the entrants are forced to pay around Sh600,000 bribe to be recruited into the service.

The Standard is in receipt of the detailed Justice Maraga task force report whose preliminary copy was released late last year and can now reveal that the skewed police recruitment system favours the political elite allowing recruits to join the service through corruption, cronyism, nepotism, and political influence.