Ruto commits to more police reforms as second NPS commission leaves office

President William Ruto on Monday pledged his government’s commitment to implementing more reforms to ensure a motivated police service.

Speaking at State House, Nairobi during the presentation of the end-term report of the second National Police Service Commission (NPSC) which is leaving office, Ruto commended NPSC for its contribution to ongoing police reforms and human resource management.

“Your stewardship has yielded remarkable and undeniable improvement in recruitment processes, career progression, discipline enforcement, and the welfare of our officers,” he said.

Among the key achievements President Ruto hailed the commission for is the automation of police recruitment, minimising human contact and interaction during the process to tame corruption.

“Beyond these achievements, the commission has also played a crucial role in strengthening governance structures within the National Police Service by ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability in decision-making,” Ruto said.

He cited the decentralisation of human resource services, the establishment of a contributory benevolent fund, and the pursuit of a fair and competitive mortgage scheme for officers as some of the outgoing commission’s successes.

However, Ruto pointed out remaining challenges in need of urgent attention, such as irregular police recruitment, budgetary constraints, and the need for a sustainable police welfare programme.

“These are matters of national interest, and the government is fully committed to implementing reforms that will ensure a motivated, well-resourced, and professional police service,” Ruto pledged.

While presenting the report, NPSC Chairperson Eliud Kinuthia noted that the commission recruited 10,932 new police officers to bring the police-population ratio to 1:509.

“We recruited 1,128 civilian staff of the National Police Service. We promoted 16,338 police officers and 1,309 civilian staff. On disciplinary control, the commission determined 1,461 disciplinary cases and processed 724 appeals,” Kinuthia said.

At the same time, the commission implemented the first two phases of salary increments, which has seen the basic salary of a police constable at entry of notch 1 increase from Ksh.21,645 to Ksh.25,645.

The longest-serving constable who has served 20 notches, equivalent to twenty years, now earns a basic salary of Ksh.69,640.

Similarly, for senior officers, the basic salary of a senior assistant inspector general (SAIG) was increased from Ksh.200,889 to Ksh.221,915 per month with the longest serving SAIG rank earning up to Kshs.409,365 per month.

“As the curtain comes down for the second commission, we leave behind the implementation of Phase III of the salary increment, which is supposed to raise the basic salary of a police constable from Ksh.25,645 to Ksh.29,645 per month,” Kinuthia urged President Ruto.