NAIROBI, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — Kenyan President William Ruto said on Friday that the government will spend 28 billion Kenyan shillings (about 216 million U.S. dollars) to modernize the National Police Service over the next two years.
According to Ruto, the modernization program will include new equipment and weapons, digitization of police operations as well as constructing new housing units for police officers.
“It is our intention to make sure that many of our policemen and women, who discharge a very sensitive responsibility of protecting all of us, work in conditions that help them discharge that responsibility,” he said in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi when launching National Police Service and State Department of Correctional Service Strategic Plans for 2023-2027.
According to a statement issued by the presidency, the government has spent 15.5 million dollars to raise the standards within the service,
Ruto said 1,000 new vehicles will be acquired for the police early next year under the police leasing program in an effort to alleviate the shortage at police stations across the country.
He noted that plans are at an advanced stage to procure 2,000 more vehicles, adding that 582 new housing units have been completed, while another 1,000 are at different stages of construction to improve police officers’ living conditions.
The aim is to build 17,000 new units for police officers, and the government will continue the digitization of police operations to bring them to international standards, the Kenyan president added.
“We need a modern police service and technology is key to this. We must ensure we digitize operations, including the famous Occurrence Book,” he said.
