Adamson Bungei, newly appointed Director, Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons./FILE
Former Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei was on Wednesday named the Director Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons in changes at the Kenya Police Service.
Two other senior police commanders were moved in the changes announced by the police headquarters. Bungei took over from Jacinta Muthoni, who exited on retirement. Until his transfer to the small arms, Bungei was the director of operations at police headquarters, Vigilance House.
In the changes, Rift Valley Regional Police Commander Jasper Ombati was moved to Central in the same capacity. He swapped positions with Samuel Ndanyi. Paul Wambugu was moved from Isiolo to the National Police Leadership Academy in Ngong.
The officer in charge of sports at Vigilance House, Isaac Sang, was moved to Isiolo to replace Wambugu, while Tom Okoth was named the new officer in charge Sports at Vigilance House. Officials said the changes were normal to enhance police operations at large.
This comes months after former police spokesman Charles Owino was reinstated to the National Police Service and formally seconded to the office of the national government spokesperson’s office.
Officials said more changes at the higher ranks are expected in the coming days to enhance operations ahead of the general elections in 2027.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said all police officers in the rank of Constable who are aged 50 years and above to be promoted. No officer will also be transferred within one year of a previous transfer without considering their social situation, he added. The Inspector General of police will issue promotion guidelines for other ranks in due course.
Equally, no officer will serve in an operational area for more than three years. Officers who are aged 50 years and above are to be transferred closer to home. And to improve mobility, the government will procure 3,000 motor vehicles with more emphasis on electric vehicles to address inadequate fuel allocation and aid environmental protection.
To increase the number of civil registration centres from the current 174 to 400 in the next six months. By so doing, every Sub-County will have at least one registry. Police say crime incidents have been manageable at large. Cases of cattle rustling in parts of the Rift Valley have dropped significantly in the past three years due to various measures put by the authorities.
Murkomen said they have been able to collect over 1000 illegal guns in less than four months in Kerio Valley. This was out of an ongoing disarmament exercise.
Murkomen said there is ongoing digitalisation of operations and human resources management of the police, NPRs and NGAOs in respect of promotions, training and transfers.
Every chief will also be issued a tablet in the next six months for filing reports. He added that there will be the construction of 900 police stations in the next two years through a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Interior, N-GCDF and the Affordable Housing Programme and operationalisation of twenty-four Sub-Counties, 88 Divisions, 318 Locations and 675 Sub-Locations in the next one year.
There will be the construction of 17,500 housing units for the police and prison warders in the next one year.
