The living conditions of police officers must be improved for them to effectively protect lives and property, MPs have said.
The National Assembly Committee on Administration and National Security, which is on an inspection tour of police stations and housing facilities at the Coast, on Wednesday expressed concern over the deplorable conditions to which police officers are subjected.
“Like here in Mbaraki, we find that the status is very bad and it looks like there has been no maintenance,” committee chair Paul Koinange (Kiambaa) said.
He spoke after inspecting the Mbaraki police station in Mombasa, where the committee saw dilapidated houses, bushy compounds, blocked sewers and cracked walls.
Koinange said the mental health of police officers is the most important thing to look after so as to avoid cases where officers are involved in suicide and homicide.
“These are some of the issues that touch on mental health. If you are not working in the conditions you are supposed to be working in, you can end up as a mental health case,” the committee chair said.
He said the committee is keen to ensure police officers get psychosocial help.
“We even plan to have psychosocial officers moving in mobile units so they can go to each police station to speak to police officers so they can help them,” Koinange said.
The committee also toured Central police station before heading for Kwale county. Koinange said a police officer cannot serve citizens effectively if their living place is not in good condition.
“They come out of their homes very stressed people. You can imagine when it rains, the police officer will come out of here very stressed and disturbed that he can’t serve the public very well,” he said.
Koinange noted that the committee will ensure the houses are improved as soon as possible. The Kiambaa lawmaker, who was accompanied by Teso North MP Oku Kaunya, said a common problem in all the police stations they have so far visited across the country is police uniforms, boots and vehicles.
He said Mombasa, for example, is a place where more police vehicles are needed because of increased population.
The visit came two days after Jomvu MP Badi Twalib complained about being frustrated by Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai over shortage of police vehicles.
The MP had requested an additional police patrol vehicle for his constituency, a request that was granted by President Uhuru Kenyatta on October 18 last year. However, the vehicle has yet to be delivered, a year down the line.
Twalib accused the IG of exposing his constituency to insecurity by failing to ensure an additional vehicle is deployed in the subcounty.
On Wednesday, Koinange said the committee is the eye of the President. His committee is the first to do an inspection of police stations or housing facilities.
“We will pursue this issue of the budget to make sure we change the conditions of these houses,” he reiterated, adding that a reward scheme will also be emphasised so police officers are motivated.
Edited by Henry Makori
