10,000 more police jobs lined up

Ten thousand officers are to be recruited in the police service in two weeks, the biggest number in Kenya’s history.

The National Police Service Commission (NPSC) has invited Kenyans aged between 18 and 30 interested in law enforcement to present themselves for recruitment on July 14.

The drive is aimed at reducing the police to population ratio from 1:850 to the international standards of an officer for every 400 citizens in five years. It was one of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s campaign pledges.

The force under the Inspector General of Police has come under sharp focus recently following its slow response to terrorism threats.

The recruitment will be conducted in 289 centres.

NPSC says it has come up with strict guidelines including disqualifying candidates who canvass, cheat or bribe.

Those with endorsements from politicians will not be tolerated.

In the past, some candidates would turn up at recruitment centres with endorsement letters from Cabinet ministers and MPs from their home areas.

This time, only recommendation letters by headteachers, religious or other community leaders would be accepted.

“A candidate must submit a written application to the panel at the venue of recruitment, addressed to the chairperson of the commission, stating his or her preference,” reads an advert appearing elsewhere in this paper.

The regular police will absorb 6,000 while the rest will be trained as Administration Police officers.

The drive targets those who scored a mean grade of D+ in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination and must be aged between 18 and 28.

Those with diploma and degree certificates are eligible provided they are 30 years old and below.

The number of successful candidates of the same sex should not be more than two thirds.

“The recruitment shall reflect the regional and ethnic diversity of Kenya,” said NPSC’s chairman Mr Johnston Kavuludi.

Those who produce forged documents would be arrested immediately.