The National Police Service (NPS) will deploy 10,000 newly trained officers as the country intensifies security preparations ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The recruits are scheduled to graduate from the National Police Service Training College in Kiganjo, Nyeri County, on August 28, marking a major addition to the service amid concerns over staffing shortages.
At Kiganjo, the officers have been trained in firearms handling, field tactics, command and control, human rights, and crowd management to prepare them for deployment.
In a statement on Friday, Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lang’at said the new officers will help bridge the staffing gap created by years of inadequate recruitment and natural attrition.
“We are happy that we will be injecting another good number of police officers into our national security architecture,” Lang’at said.
History of Kiganjo Police College
Established in 1948 in Nyeri County, the National Police Service Training College was set up to train African constables and recruits from across the then Kenya Colony.
The earliest training programmes lasted about six months and focused on basic law, field craft and specialised police duties.
Swahili was widely used in instruction because many recruits had limited English skills, while British officers initially held senior leadership roles.
Over the years, Kiganjo’s training programme has evolved to reflect the changing demands of policing. The curriculum now extends beyond physical drills and basic police duties to cover professional investigations, human rights, case management and other skills essential to modern policing.
How Training Is Conducted
According to NPS, training at Kiganjo goes beyond physical drills and weapons handling. Recruits learn to make decisions in difficult situations, interact with members of the public, and exercise police powers within the law.
The college has specialized departments covering map reading, command and control, and field crafts and tactics.
Recruits also undergo practical firearms training, where they learn target shooting and tactical procedures designed to prepare them for situations they may encounter while on duty.
Crowd management is another key component of the training. Officers are taught to use negotiation and controlled intervention when dealing with demonstrations.
The approach aims to help officers manage public gatherings without resorting to unnecessary force and to reduce the risk of injuries during security operations.
The training includes procedures for identifying themselves, issuing proclamations in English and Swahili, and giving crowds an opportunity to comply with orders before taking further action.
Other Components of the Curriculum
Besides firearm training, police recruits also learn about human rights and public relations. The curriculum includes communication skills, cultural sensitivity, and scenario-based empathy to improve interactions with the public.
Human rights training is not limited to new recruits. Officers who return to Kiganjo for refresher or promotion courses also receive the training to remind them of their responsibilities and how they should treat members of the public.
The training further stresses citizen-focused policing, with officers expected to maintain peace, enforce the law, and protect lives and property while respecting the rights of members of the public.
Discipline remains another central requirement, with the college insisting that recruits should already demonstrate a commitment to discipline and understand the responsibilities that come with joining the police service.
Once deployed, the recruits will be expected to put these skills into practice in communities across the country, where their conduct and decision-making will ultimately determine how effectively they serve the public.
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