Report: 78 per cent of officers lack decent housing

Police recruits during rehearsal ahead passing-out parade at the Kenya Police College, Kiganjo Main campus in Nyeri County on August 25, 2026. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

The country expects its police officers to respond to danger at any hour, protect lives and property, confront criminals and remain available when disaster strikes yet thousands of them cannot find decent housing close to their workplaces.

The Maraga-led Taskforce found that housing had become a threat to the welfare, dignity and operational effectiveness of Kenya’s police service from leaking roofs and condemned police lines to officers living in unsafe neighborhoods and tattered tents.

Some live far from their stations because their housing allowances cannot meet prevailing rents while others remain in dilapidated police houses because moving out would mean spending even more of their already stretched salaries on rent.

This is the picture painted by the National Taskforce on Improvement of the Terms and Conditions of Service and Other Reforms for Members of the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service and National Youth Service, appointed on December 21, 2022, through Gazette Notice No. 15792.

The Taskforce, chaired by former Chief Justice David Maraga, was mandated to review the terms and conditions of service and propose reforms for officers across the three services.

Its examination of police housing revealed a system struggling under years of inadequate investment, poor maintenance, low allowances and unclear institutional responsibility.

According to the report housing problem is both a welfare and a policing problem. The housing crisis cannot be separated from the financial circumstances of the officers themselves.

The Taskforce findings provided in its report, the cost of living for members of the National Police Service had increased by 84 per cent since 2013.

The minimum basic salary of a police constable joining the Service, however, had increased by only 21 per cent, from KSh17,190 to KSh20,926.

In January 2013, a newly recruited constable received a basic salary of KSh17,190, a housing supplementation of KSh3,000 and a police/prison allowance of KSh9,000, bringing the gross salary to KSh29,190.

The officers trying to survive in an increasingly expensive economy, housing was inevitably going to become one of the biggest pressures.

The Taskforce found that house allowances were in many instances not commensurate with market realities.

Officers looking for affordable accommodation had to move farther from their stations.

When a police officer is forced to live far from the station, the problem affects service delivery in case of emergencies it is difficult for them to respond.

A police officer may be required to report immediately when there is an emergency but the Taskforce found that the hybrid housing system, under which some officers live within police lines while others live in the community, had made rapid mobilization increasingly difficult.

The original idea behind the hybrid system was to allow officers to live among members of the public that could strengthen community relationships and support community policing but the Taskforce found that the arrangement had also created inefficiencies. Officers living outside police lines could be scattered across communities far from their stations.

The policy intended to strengthen relations between police and communities was therefore also affecting the Service's ability to respond rapidly.

The Taskforce concluded that the effectiveness of police work had been diluted and that the housing system needed review.

The State Department for Housing estimated the NPS housing shortfall at approximately 90,000 units, assuming the Service wanted to accommodate all its officers within police lines.

At full strength of 105,884 officers, the Service could adequately house fewer than 22 per cent of its personnel.

That left approximately 78 per cent facing housing challenges explaining why the hybrid system became necessary.

This numbers from the findings also reveal the magnitude of the investment required if police housing is to become a functioning component of the Service rather than a recurring problem.

The governments have been recruiting more police officers without making proportionate investment in housing and related infrastructure.

The result is an institution with more personnel but not enough roofs over their heads which symbolizes the neglect for the men and women who ensure the country is safe.

Across the country, officers were found living in houses in poor condition. Some were condemned, some had leaking roofs while others had peeling paint, poor sanitation and inadequate basic needs.

The Taskforce went beyond describing physical deterioration and linked poor housing to morale and self esteem and the value towards their welfare.

The Constitution may speak of dignity and housing policy may promise decent accommodation but dignity means little when an officer has to sleep in a structure that is unsuitable for human habitation.

The Taskforce said exposing officers to such conditions injures their self esteem and morale and violates their rights to dignity and privacy while noting that poor accommodation puts police life in danger.

The Taskforce's encounters with Border Patrol and Special Operations officers in remote areas revealed a different level of hardship.

In Mokowe and Milihoi in Lamu, Muhuru Bay in Migori and Waugadud in Wajir, officers were found living and working in low quality, leaking and tattered tents.

This were operational environments for officers performing some of the country's most demanding security duties.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the findings was that Kenya did not lack policies. The National Police Service Commission had developed a Welfare Policy covering areas such as housing, health, recreation and employee assistance programmes.

It had also developed a Well Being Policy intended to support officers and their families but the problem was implementation.

In 2018, the NPSC developed the National Police Service Housing Policy, setting out provisions on housing standards, allocation, maintenance and provision.

The Taskforce found that these policies had not been adequately operationalized.

Overall management of NPS housing was under the Directorate of Housing within the office of the Inspector General. Yet the State Department for Housing and Public Works owned and managed police houses.

The Directorate was supposed to inspect houses every six months and ensure necessary repairs but the Taskforce found that inspections were not being conducted as required or where they were, renovations were not undertaken. This created a system in which responsibility could become blurred.

The Taskforce recommended that housing management revert to the Directorate responsible for housing under the office of the Inspector General, in line with the NPSC Housing Policy.

The housing crisis also exposed another uncomfortable issue of who gets the houses that do exist?

The Taskforce observed that in urban areas such as Nairobi, some modern police houses were occupied by senior officers, including some who were not attached to the station where the houses were located. Meanwhile, junior officers were forced to rent accommodation far away.

The Taskforce therefore called for the NPS to address the occupation by senior leadership of houses meant for junior officers.

To solve housing issues, the taskforce recommended that the NPS retain contributions from police housing units and use the money for maintenance of existing houses and expansion of housing.

Second, it recommended that housing management return to the NPS housing directorate under the Inspector General.

Third, it called for an increase in house allowances.

Fourth, it proposed that more police houses be constructed through public private partnerships.

Fifth, it recommended retaining house allowances for all officers because the majority would not find institutional accommodation at their workstations.

Sixth, it proposed devolving housing directorate services to counties to enable closer supervision and maintenance.

The Maraga Taskforce further recommended that the National Police Service (NPS), together with the National Treasury, establish a 2% per annum mortgage scheme for police officers, especially junior officers. The goal is to help officers buy or build their own homes, reducing their long term dependence on government housing while building financial security and promoting home ownership.

The Taskforce also recommended that a reasonable share of the government’s affordable housing be reserved for NPS officers, giving junior officers greater access to affordable home ownership.

For new housing projects on police land, the Inspector General should ensure the land is properly registered and legally secure under the NPSC Housing Policy, protecting public investment from disputes.

At the same time, dilapidated and condemned police houses should be vacated and demolished immediately, with affected officers moved to suitable accommodation in the community. Officers should not be expected to live in unsafe buildings simply because they are government houses.

The Taskforce stressed that police housing is directly linked to officers’ dignity, morale, security and operational effectiveness. Kenya faces a 90,000-unit police housing deficit, with 78% of officers reportedly experiencing housing challenges, including leaking roofs, poor accommodation, inadequate allowances, long distances from stations and unequal access to available housing.

The key issue now is implementation. The Taskforce has identified the problem and proposed solutions but recommendations alone do not provide a roof to an officer living in a condemned house or a leaking tent.

The proposal is about  the state giving police officers the decent, safe and dignified living conditions they need to effectively protect the country.