Administrators to get paramilitary training amid security concerns

At least 440 assistant county commissioners and 3,400 chiefs will undergo mandatory paramilitary training in the next six months, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi has said.

Speaking during a security meeting with administrators in Nyeri yesterday, Dr Matiangi said the training will be facilitated by the National Police Service.

"We will ensure that all ACCs (assistant county commissioners) and chiefs who have not undergone paramilitary training do so in the next six months," CS Matiangi said.

The training is seen as a mandatory requirement for the administrators but is also believed to have been informed by the ongoing restructuring of the National Police Service, which will see Administration Police officers previously attached to chiefs and ACCs redeployed.

It comes amid safety concerns for the administrators while on duty following recent attacks on chiefs. In just under four months, two chiefs in Nyeri and Turkana counties were killed while on duty. The killings sparked calls to arm chiefs and the move to train them is seen as a step towards improving their safety.

At the same time, the Interior ministry is working to straighten the chain of command in the national government.

The CS tasked the administrators to improve coordination of the national government functions at the grass roots.

“We want to work seamlessly in our coordination of national government. Our focus is service delivery,” he said.

The move will see the administrators play an oversight role for the central government on projects in their respective areas. They will be required to report any stalled projects to the Interior ministry regardless of the mother ministry in charge of the project.

“The regional commissioners coordinate national government functions in the regions and that cascades down to chiefs and assistant chiefs,” he added.