From moran to top career cop

Tom Ole Keis. A former moran with little education who has  built a strong career in the AP Unit.[PHOTO: COLLINS KWEYU/STANDARD]

BY COLLINS KWEYU

Baringo, Kenya:Tom Ole Keis, the Chief of Communications with the Administration Police unit,  never imagined he would rise through the ranks to where he is today.

 There were just too many odds   stacked against him.

He was from a minority community – the Njemps – and had gone up to a very modest level of education. In fact, it was by sheer coincidence that he joined the force. He sat for his Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) in Marigat Primary School, Baringo in 1977.

As tradition demanded, he joined his colleagues in the forest, as a moran, where they were circumcised and taught the values of being men.

Impressed by his height and body physique, a former councillor in the area approached him and asked him to enrol in the army or the police service. 

In July 1980 he began his course as a police officer and trained for nine months, after which he was posted to Samburu district as a constable.

“I took part in many successful operations in Baragoi and Suguta valley,” he says.

In 1987 he got his first promotion as a corporal and was posted to his native Baringo district where he was in charge of the armory at the district AP headquarters. “This was a challenge especially when dealing with university graduates working under me,” he says.

Driven by the academic desire, Keis enrolled for private studies.

“I started attending evening classes from 2004 to 2007 at Tazama Tutorial College in the city,” he says. He sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) as a private candidate two years ago and got a mean grade of  D+.

Currently, Keis is undertaking a Diploma course in Security Management in Criminal Justice at the Kenya Institute of Studies, which he began in May last year and will be complete later this year.

He was awarded the Head of State Commendation (HSC) for his good work by retired President Daniel Arap Moi for his bravery in recovery of livestock and arms from cattle rustlers.

In July 2003, Keis was transferred to Harambee House, to be in charge of Signals and Communications. He says when he took over the position, the AP used to operate using High Frequency (HF) gadgets but he introduced Very High Frequency (VHF) communication after the Government pumped in more money to security organs.