How to End Rivalry Between Kenya Police and Administration Police Officers

A government taskforce has proposed major changes to the National Police Service (NPS) structure to tackle rivalries between the Kenya Police Service (KPS) and the Administration Police Service (APS). The National Taskforce on Improvement of Terms and Conditions of Service and Reforms for the NPS, Kenya Prisons Service, and National Youth Service released its report on Monday, blaming unclear roles and poor execution of the 2018 reorganisation for tensions between the two police forces.

The report highlighted that before 2018, the NPS had duplicate services at various levels, with commanders from the KPS, APS, and Directorate of Criminal Investigations often having the same ranks, leading to confusion in resource allocation and disjointed operations. The 2018 reorganisation, meant to eliminate duplication, was poorly implemented and frustrated APS officers who felt sidelined by KPS counterparts.

APS officers claimed they were treated as juniors and their concerns were not adequately addressed by NPS leadership. The taskforce also noted that the reorganisation affected policing and security, with many APS officers absorbed into the KPS and the APS's county-level mandate reduced to infrastructure protection. This went against the National Police Service Act and weakened community-based policing.

The taskforce recommended maintaining the distinction between the three police services only up to the inspectorate level, redesignating gazetted officers as NPS officers without service affiliation beyond that level, and standardizing training and promotion for all officers. They also proposed increasing the number of APS formations to better perform assigned functions, as outlined in the National Police Service Act.