The Jukwaa la Usalama county tours will make the last stop in Nairobi tomorrow (Thursday), bringing to a close a nationwide security dialogue that has traversed 46 counties over the past six months.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Ministry of Interior, has been designed as a grassroots platform where citizens, administrators and security personnel converge to openly discuss challenges around peace, safety and service delivery.
Tomorrow’s Nairobi programme will begin with a regional security meeting at Nyayo House at 8 am, followed by a courtesy call on Governor Johnson Sakaja at City Hall.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and his team will then inspect ID registration services at the National Registration Bureau, NSSF Building, before heading to the Kenya School of Government, Kabete, for the highlight event, a town hall meeting with city residents.
Since its launch in April 2025, Jukwaa la Usalama has given ordinary Kenyans a rare opportunity to raise their concerns directly with the country’s top security officials.
Murkomen has repeatedly emphasised that the forums are not ceremonial but meant to extract actionable insights from communities.
“This is not a mere talking shop. What is more important is what we will take from these meetings and translate into policy,” he said during the Coast leg of the tour.
The forums have provided an opportunity for the CS to assess the current security situation, engage with local leadership and communities, and refine strategies to promote peace, cohesion, and stability in the region.
Across the counties already visited, several recurring themes have emerged.
In arid areas, residents pointed to banditry and cattle rustling as their most urgent challenge, while in many rural towns, illicit brewing and substance abuse were repeatedly raised.
Urban centers highlighted youth gang violence, and in frontier regions, longstanding boundary disputes dominated the conversations.
Citizens also raised frustrations over delays in acquiring national identity cards, poor infrastructure for police officers, and weak coordination between county and national enforcement units.
In Meru, Murkomen acknowledged that while cattle raids had declined, border conflicts with neighbouring counties remained unresolved.
In Homa Bay, he issued a stern warning that the government would pursue and prosecute political players found financing youth goons to destabilise communities.
Similar concerns were echoed in Rift Valley counties, where residents called for a stronger link between community policing units and chiefs.
The forums have already sparked visible changes in some regions.
Local authorities have deployed more officers to hotspots and fast-tracked land dispute resolutions.
Security chiefs have also introduced localised patrol models, with counties like Bungoma and Uasin Gishu experimenting with neighbourhood watch structures directly tied to administrative officers.
Nairobi’s edition is expected to draw wide interest given the capital’s unique security landscape.
Issues likely to dominate the Kabete town hall include rising urban crime in informal settlements, mugging, drug abuse and radicalisation among youth, and congestion at ID registration centers.
Speaking during a forum in Bungoma, the CS accused the so-called street children of being behind the wave of attacks in the city.
“I want to confirm to you that operations are ongoing and they will continue," Murkomen stated.
Residents are also expected to question the lack of coordination between county enforcement units and the National Police Service, especially in tackling petty crime and managing crowded public spaces.
As the curtain falls on the Jukwaa la Usalama tour, the Nairobi meeting will serve both as a symbolic conclusion and a critical test of whether grassroots dialogue can translate into lasting national security policy.
