Kanja raises 2027 poll security fears as hiring of 15,000 police officers stalls

Police IG Douglas Kanja has raised concerns over the country’s preparedness to provide adequate security during next year's general elections.

Kanja warned that a severe funding shortfall has stalled plans to recruit 15,000 additional police officers to reinforce the National Police Service ahead of the polls.

The IG disclosed that the government’s plan to recruit 25,000 officers during President William Ruto’s first term is now at risk after only 10,000 officers were enlisted, leaving a deficit of 15,000 personnel.

The National Treasury has only allocated Sh2.9 billion against a requirement of Sh6.3 billion to hire new officers in the next financial year.

Kanja said the proposed amount is insufficient and will largely be used to clear pending bills for the 10,000 recruits currently undergoing training.

Appearing before the National Assembly Administration and Internal Security Committee during deliberations on the 2026-27 budget estimates, Kanja said the service urgently requires at least Sh6.3 billion to recruit and train additional officers before the elections.

“The lion’s share of those funds will go towards settling pending bills for operations of the 10,000 recruits currently under training,” Kanja told lawmakers.

According to the budget estimates, the National Treasury allocated the NPS a total of Sh143.19 billion for the next financial year, with priority areas including police recruitment, officers’ welfare and modernisation of the police air wing.

Despite the allocation, the police leadership argued that the amount falls far below the service’s operational requirements at a time when the country faces increasing security demands and preparations for the next general election.

Kanja told MPs that the service is struggling to replace officers exiting through retirement, resignation and death, even as demand for police presence continues to rise across the country.

The Inspector General cautioned that unless Parliament approves additional funding, the planned recruitment exercise may not proceed, potentially undermining election security preparedness.

“For fresh recruitment to be undertaken, additional funding must therefore be provided. There is a huge gap and this is an area that this committee needs to look into seriously,” he added.

National Police Service Secretary and Accounting Officer Bernice Lemedeket echoed the concerns, warning that the service risks falling significantly short of its five-year recruitment target.

“Our strategic plan for the next five years was to recruit 25,000 police officers but we have only recruited 10,000 so far. We therefore have a shortage of 15,000 officers as we prepare for the elections,” Lemedeket told the MPs.

She explained that the officers currently in training are only replacing those leaving the service and do not increase the overall strength of the police force.

“The 10,000 recruits currently in training will only fill attrition gaps. They are not an addition to the existing numbers. For the interest of the country and election preparedness, we still need funding to recruit the remaining officers,” she said.

The NPS also appealed for more funding to modernise the police air wing and improve transport capacity within the service.

Kanja disclosed that the police currently have only three operational aircraft out of a fleet of nine, with the rest grounded and in need of refurbishment.

“We have three operational aircraft — two fixed-wing aircraft and one Mi-17 helicopter — while nine aircraft remain at the hangar awaiting restoration through investment,” he said.

The Inspector General explained that the aviation unit had deteriorated after aircraft were previously transferred away from the National Police Service, forcing the agency to rebuild its air support operations almost from scratch.

He said the service had already budgeted Sh102 million for the refurbishment of the Mi-17 helicopter and additional resources to repair another helicopter grounded due to gearbox problems.

Kanja further appealed for the acquisition of two new fixed-wing aircraft with a carrying capacity of between 19 and 24 passengers to strengthen police operations, disaster response and surveillance capabilities.

The Inspector General noted that the existing Mi-17 helicopter has been critical in operations in North Eastern Kenya and other emergency deployments in difficult terrain.

“We are almost starting from scratch and we need a lot of support in that direction,” he told MPs.

The police service also raised concerns over inadequate transport resources, revealing that it currently operates at only 50 per cent of its required transport capacity.

Kanja says NPS requires about 8,400 vehicles but currently has only 2,833 operational vehicles, while another 1,066 are grounded, leaving a deficit of 4,481 vehicles nationwide.

He said the service is now considering a transition to electric vehicles for urban policing, while diesel-powered vehicles would mainly be deployed in rural areas.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

The National Police Service has warned that inadequate funding could undermine security preparedness for the 2027 General Election. Inspector General Douglas Kanja told MPs that the Sh2.9 billion allocated for recruitment is insufficient, as most of it will clear pending bills for current trainees. The NPS says it still needs 15,000 officers to meet its target under President William Ruto’s first term and strengthen election security operations nationwide.