Kenya police introduce new uniforms amid procurement criticism

Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja has debuted the new Kenya Police Service uniform, which the National Police Service describes as a move to boost officer morale, professionalism, and visibility. President William Ruto recently unveiled the new General Duty uniform at the Kenya Police Training College in Kiganjo.

However, former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has criticized the government’s procurement approach for the new attire. Matiang’i argued that the administration should have utilized existing public institutions, such as the National Youth Service (NYS), to manufacture the uniforms rather than outsourcing the process. He noted that during his previous tenure, the government leveraged the vocational and technical capacity of the NYS and other local entities to reduce costs and strengthen domestic capacity.