There was a light moment in Parliament Buildings when the National Police Service Commission sought to explain to a Senate committee why it does not recruit short people.
The chair of the Standing Committee on National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity, and Regional Integration Mohamed Chute had asked why short people are turned away during recruitment exercises.
Commission CEO Peter Leley explained that short people are deemed incapable to fight criminals.
“With due respect to short people and I am not saying they cannot do the job, taller people are seen as capable of executing an arrest. They are able to pin down a criminal as they are also heavier. How do you expect a 1GB person to pin down a heavyweight,” he posed.
Leley added that it is for this reason that they also have set minimum weight for youth seeking to join the service.
During recruitment, men are required to have a height of at least 5.8ft and ladies 5.3ft.
The minimum weight for men is 54.55 kilogrammes and for women 50.00 kilogrammes.
Female candidates must NOT be pregnant at the time of recruitment and during the entire duration of training.
Leley further said most criminals are well-built and hence the need to match their physical capabilities.
“Most criminals are strong such that they can even fight off citizen arrest. They are people who can put up a fight with a crowd and that is why we need heavily built officers,” he stated.
Uasin Gishu senator Jackson Mandago said height and weight should not be criteria to recruit youth into the Directorate Criminal Investigation.
The Kenya National Police Service is divided into three units; The Kenya Police Service, The Kenya Administrative Police Service, and The Directorate of Criminal Investigation.
Thousands of youths who turn up for recruitment every time the service hires are disqualified for being too short.
Some leaders have been calling on the government to revise the criteria used to recruit officers.
The criteria used include academic qualification, height, physical fitness, good vision, and general health.
Once a candidate is selected, they immediately become bonded to serve under the command of the National Police Service Commission for a minimum of 10 years before they can leave the service.
With the exception that; in the course of their service they become declared unfit to serve in the service either by way of physical disability, medical condition, insanity, or corruption charges that may guarantee the discharge of the officer in question.
The recruits will undergo a 15-month rigorous physical training and classroom learning.
This duration includes a 3-month compulsory internship.
