The Constitution should be amended to devolve some security functions to allow governors to deal with insecurity, Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala has said.
There have been rising incidents of insecurity in the county. The 42 Brothers gang has in two months killed 12 people in Butere subcounty. Malala said insecurity is a big threat in the counties because governors do not have direct links to security systems.
“Handling insecurity issues at the county level has proven tricky because county governments barely have a role to play. Governors have no voice to command or direct security officers yet they are well-versed with the terrain and social structures of their counties,” he said.
Malala urged MPs to table a motion in Parliament seeking to devolve some functions of security or ensure the issues are captured in the push for a referendum to amend the Constitution.
“There should be a middle ground, such as subjecting a section of the police units deployed to counties to direct supervision by governors or creation of county police services,” he said.
Malala also urged MCAs to come up with a motion seeking to allow governors to fund the Nyumba Kumi initiative, saying it was important as part of community policing. He said it is unfair to expect them to work without payment. “The only security management tool county governments have at their disposal at the moment is the Nyumba Kumi Initiative,” he said.
