TANA RIVER, Kenya – Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Friday unveiled several key reforms aimed at improving the administration and security in frontier and banditry-prone counties.
Speaking during his ongoing tour of the Coastal region in Tana River, Murkomen announced that chiefs holding university degrees would be promoted to the position of Assistant County Commissioners (ACC) to recognize their educational qualifications and enhance their leadership roles in local governance.
The CS also revealed that, to improve service delivery, every sub-county will now have two Principal Chiefs, further decentralizing administrative functions and increasing efficiency in government operations at the grassroots level.
In a significant move to address security challenges in the region, Murkomen stated that the government is considering arming chiefs in areas frequently targeted by criminal groups, including Al-Shabaab extremists.
He emphasized that chiefs in frontline areas, where they face consistent and imminent threats, would undergo training at the Administration Police Training Campus (APTC) and be armed for self-protection.
“Corners in the frontline where we have established that chiefs are under imminent and persistent attack should have their chiefs armed. They will undergo another training at the APTC,” Murkomen said.
During the visit, the CS also addressed concerns raised by security personnel about long tenures in marginalized and operational areas.
He directed that no officer should serve in such areas for more than three years and announced plans for immediate transfers of police officers who have overstayed in these challenging regions, including Tana River.
“I have directed that all police officers who have served in Tana River and other frontline counties for more than three years be transferred immediately and not later than three months,” Murkomen stated.
The move comes after complaints from officers who had served in Tana River for up to 14 years.
Murkomen acknowledged that a shortage of personnel had contributed to the problem but reassured that the planned recruitment of 10,000 new police officers, along with better implementation of rotation policies, would address the issue.
The government is also continuing with its modernization program, which includes improving police and administrative welfare, such as providing more vehicles and better living conditions to officers in these regions.
“These reforms will be implemented across the board so that no part of our country should be seen by any officer as a punishment post,” Murkomen added.
In addition to security concerns, local residents in Tana River identified boundary disputes, scarce natural resources like water, tribal conflicts over leadership roles, and the adverse effects of climate change, including floods and famine, as ongoing challenges.
These factors continue to exacerbate tensions in the region, further complicating efforts to maintain peace and stability.
