Officers who have served more than 3 years at one station to be transferred

Interior CS Kithure Kindiki before the Senate Plenary at the Parliament buildings, Nairobi. October 11,th,2023;(Elvis Ogina, Standard)

Police officers who have served at a station for more than three years will be transferred, the government has said.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, who appeared before the Senate on Wednesday, October 11, said that officers who have served for more than three years will be transferred to other stations before the end of the year.

"Going forward, no officer who has served for more than three years should remain in the station they are serving. We have given police commanders a maximum of 60 days to make sure all officers who have been stationed for more than three years are transferred.," said Kindiki.

According to the CS, the decision was adopted as part of the police reforms presented to President William Ruto by the Police Reforms Task Force a fortnight ago.

Police officers who fail to oblige will not receive their salaries until they transfer.

"The directive by the government is that after the 60 days, officers who continue to resist or for whatever reason do not move will have their salaries stopped," said Kindiki.

This comes months after the Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nyeri stopped the frequent transfers of police officers.

According to Justice Onesmus Makau, the National Police Service (NPS) must first consider the nature of their families especially those with school-going children before deploying them to new stations.

"The NPS must consider the family and rights of the school-going minors in the custody of the police officer before transferring them," ruled Justice Makau on June 3.

According to Makau, even if an officer in their oath swore to serve anywhere in the country, NPS should take into consideration these factors before transferring them.

However, according to Kindiki, the policy seeks to rotate officers who have served in one station longer than required.

Further, it seeks to be beneficial to officers who are currently in hardship areas and have served in those stations for a long period of time without a transfer.