Police officers are finding it difficult to adhere to a directive that they share houses even in cases where they are of opposite sex. Some officers, who already have families, face the dilemma on whether or not to house fresh recruits.
Three officers who defied the new housing arrangements were suspended two weeks ago while several others have moved out of police houses to rent their own rooms.
Some 62 CID officers are supposed to share houses with 64 freshmen who graduated from Kenya Police College in April after a 15-month training course.
The strained relationship between the two groups comes not only from the fact that they have to share housing, but also from the fact that the new officers feel they are more qualified than the older officers because they trained for a longer period.
A June 12 circular from the Nairobi CID headquarters addressed to police bosses in Kamukunji and other stations warned that officers who defy the order to share houses with colleagues will be punished.
“Some current officers are denying the incoming officers space in the houses causing a lot of inconveniences to the to the new comers. This amounts to disobeying DCI directives as he has no where else to accommodate them,” read the circular.
Most of the officers affected work in crucial units such as the Criminal Intelligence Unit, the elite Special Crime Prevention Unit, and the Kenya Airports Police Unit.