MPs want more funding for police stations
The committee on National Security in the National Assembly wants police stations to receive more funding to help security officers work more efficiently.
The committee led by Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange has said it is working on a proposed law which if passed will improve the working conditions of police officers and lift their morale.
Koinange who spoke on Monday while leading members of his committee on a fact-finding mission to Murang’a police station said many police stations lack enough vehicles, which hinders their work.
“When there are not enough vehicles and someone needs help, how do they reach them in order to serve them?” Koinange wondered.
The committee has been to 37 other counties to establish the current state of police stations and police officers’ working conditions.
In Murang’a county, Koinange said the main challenges faced by police officers include poor security infrastructure, poor relations with prisons and the long distance between police stations and courts.
Murang’a police station that was built during colonial times has old and worn out offices requiring modern structures that will have all the facilities needed to serve the public, he said.
Koinange noted that it is the government’s priority to have a police station established in each ward.
“More police stations in each county will help the police work more effectively as more resources will be deployed. We highly recommend that that should be effected as soon as possible,” he said.
He underscored the need for security officers to have a good rapport with MPs so that the stations can be established using CDF.
The MP said the police service should be more friendly and professional since it changed from the Kenya police force to the National Police Service.
“We are hoping to address the challenges they are facing as soon as we present the final report to the House and make recommendations,” he added, saying the committee will support the sector with legislation that will make police officers’ work more efficient.
He pointed out that increased drug usage has been blamed for heightened insecurity especially in Kwale, Malindi and Lamu counties where it is rampant.
Cults also need to be managed, he said, as they have proved to pose a threat to security especially in developed nations.
The committee wants a government unit charged with the responsibility of rehabilitating government buildings.
“The Ministry of Works used to do this before and should be revived to ensure public offices are well maintained,” he said.
The MP noted that the committee aims at establishing how well the Nyumba Kumi initiative works and how it relates with security officers.

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