•Kilimani police boss Muturi Mbogo said it was against the law for an ex-officer to wear a police uniform.
• Police adopted the Persian blue uniform in 2018 during a merger between the APS and Kenya police.
There was drama outside Citizen TV studios in Nairobi when police ambushed and arrested a politician for wearing police uniforms while in the studio.
The Usawa Kwa Wote party candidate for Nairobi Woman representative seat Monicah Gitau had walked out of vernacular Inooro Tv studios Wednesday at about 9am when she found armed police officers waiting for her outside the compound.
Witnesses said police told her she was impersonating a police officer and was illegally wearing a junior police officer’s uniform while appearing on Tv to articulate her personal and political issues.
Gitau told the officers she retired in 2011 from Administration Police Service and she was a candidate for the seat when asked who she was. She added she acquired the uniform on her own.
Police said Gitau could not give a satisfactory account of why she was in official uniform yet she retired more than ten years ago.
It was then she was told she was under arrest and later driven to Kilimani police cells for grilling.
Kilimani police boss Muturi Mbogo said it was against the law for an ex-officer to wear a police uniform.
“She said she retired long ago but can’t explain why she is in official uniform,” he said.
He added she would be charged in court with various charges including impersonation and possession of the uniform.
Police explained they were alerted of the incident by members of the public who saw her in-studio with the uniform.
A manager at the station said they did not know the woman retired and was not supposed to be in the studio in police uniform without authorization from authorities.
Police adopted the Persian blue uniform in 2018 during a merger between the APS and Kenya police.
More than 24,000 officers from APS were moved to KPS in the changes hence the decision to adopt a new uniform
This has apparently created room for other people to be able to make such uniforms for their own use. The move was part of ongoing reforms in the service.