37 police officers killed in line of duty in a year, officials say

A total of 37 officers have died in the line of duty within a year.

The Ministry of Interior in a report said the officers were killed between November 22, 2022, and November 23, 2023.

Of the 37 officers, 24 were from the Kenya Police Service, 10 from the Administration Police Service, two from the Kenya Prisons Service and one from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

Between November 2021 and December last year, 54 police officers and four Prison officers were also killed in the line of duty.

This brings to 95, the total number of officers who have been killed in the last two years.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki Thursday presided over the event which celebrates police and prison officers who lost their lives while executing their mandate at the National Police Training College, Embakasi.

He led officers from the NPS and Prisons in the annual Joint Commemorative Service honouring Officers killed in the Brave Execution of Duty.

The event was also attended by families of the fallen officers.

Dozens of officers have either been killed or seriously injured in the line of duty.

The challenges are even more complex in the frontier counties in the North Eastern region including Mandera, Wajir and Garissa counties which have had a series of persistent threats posed by the Al-Shabaab militants, who continue to maraud around the Kenya-Somalia border.

The government this year allocated another Sh2.9 billion for the Group Personal Insurance for Police and Prisons Services and Sh5.8 billion for Medical Insurance for Police and Prisons Services.

The challenges have been experienced for years.

In July 2021, for example, the former Inspector General of Police Edward Mbugua directed that all police posts and patrol bases with less than six officers be closed and the officers deployed to the mother stations.

The police boss said such officers were unable to provide services to the members of the public as expected.

Some of the officers in these posts have been attacked and overpowered and firearms among other things stolen from them.

Kindiki announced the rollout of the Benevolent Fund in 2022 for police and prison officers who die in the line of duty to enhance the benefits left behind to families and dependents.

The fund is expected to be disbursed on an ex-gratia basis and build on life insurance, death gratuity, last expense payment, and injury compensation.

“The Benevolent Fund will raise money to support families that are left behind in terms of accessing modest scholarships for the children, and medical attention for those who are left behind as dependents, and other forms of emergencies in education, health,” he said on December 15, 2022.

Constable Bwana Asman is recognised as the first known Police officer to be killed in the line of duty.

The officer, Force Number 8, was killed on February 2, 1913, in Mumias, five years after the police force was established as a British colonial force, in 1907.

About 20 days after the killing of Constable Asman, on February 22, Constable Yabooti Malamu was also killed in Uasin Gishu.

Since then, over 2,500 police officers have died, mostly in the line of duty.

Officers have been killed by terrorists, bandits, robbers, colleagues, and even members of the public.

Since police officers are well-trained, and prepared to handle any situation as if it is a deadly encounter, the death of a police officer has never been an ordinary occurrence.

Police records indicate that most of the officers lost their lives through bandit attacks.

The largest number was the November 10, 2012, when a total of 42 officers were killed in a single operation in Baragoi’s Suguta Valley.