Constituency fund boosts security in rural areas

People living in far-flung, crime-prone corners of the country now have better access to police, local chiefs and other national government administration offices, thanks to efforts by National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) in building new police posts and refurbishing old ones.   

For a long time now, police and government administrators, such as chiefs, have been operating from dilapidated, archaic buildings mostly built during colonial times.

The situation is worse for police officers in remote outposts as they operate from makeshift huts. Usually, the standard constructions are old iron sheet huts that still dot many police stations. 

Luckily, this is slowly changing for the better. NG-CDF, formerly CDF, is a function of the central government focusing exclusively on education and security–related projects unlike before when it used to fund sectors such as health, which have since been devolved.

 In Meru county, residents of Ntangilia, a remote, semi arid section of the county, a new police post has helped reduce incidences of cattle rustling. This is giving the residents confidence to tend their farms and graze their animals. 

Police posts 

Before the police post was set up near the Meru-Isiolo border, residents used to experience frequent attacks by bandits, making it difficult to tend to their farms or graze cattle.

The post, located in an area only accessible by foot or four-wheel drive vehicles, is one of the two camps set up by the Tigania East NG-CDF office at a cost of Sh4.5 million. The second one is located at Mula, Karama subcounty.

“Before they set up a police post here, animal theft was rampant. These days I no longer fear when going about my business, but I have moved closer to the camp for security,” says Moses Murithi, a herdsman. 

Like hundreds of his fellow herdsmen, Murithi has set up a kraal adjacent to the police post where his animals rest at night after spending the day grazing in the vast scrublands that dominate the region. 

This has helped ease cross-border tensions between members of the Borana community, who are mainly herdsmen and the Meru, who crop farmers but also keep livestock.    

In Garissa, the largest town in North Eastern Kenya, frequent incursions by terrorists have seen security organs, including the Kenya Defence Forces, increase their presence in the region in a bid to bolster security. 

To support these efforts, Garissa Township Constituency NG-CDF refurbished Garissa Town Police Station after a fire gutted it down in 2012, forcing officers at the station to rent office space in adjacent government buildings. 

Renovations at the police station were funded during the 2016/2017 financial year.  “Actual repairs began in 2017.

Now the offices even have a waiting bay. This financial year (2019/2020), we plan to renovate another condemned building at the police line,” said Garissa Township NG-CDF Chairman, Siat Hared Mohammed.

Before the intervention by Garissa NG-CDF, the police offices operated from a large hall, making it difficult for officers, especially investigators receiving confidential information from the citizenry, to deal with clients.

“Citizens can now pass information to police in privacy. These are much better offices than what we had before,” said Garissa County Criminal Investigative Officer, Lazarus Kioko.

In Nyeri County, a new police post next to Tetu Technical Training Institute has improved security not just for the students but also locals.

“The police post has boosted security in the area ever since it was set up,” says Peter King’ori, the chief, Karundu location. 

King’ori says incidences of crime, including petty crimes, has gone down in the area ever since the police post became operational last year.

Efforts by the NG-CDF to improve the security situation in the country go well beyond refurbishing old police stations and building new ones. 

In Navakholo Constituency, Kakamega county, NG-CDF has built an office for the Assistant County Commissioner (formerly called Division Officer -DO) in every ward. This has reduced the distance residents cover in search of security and administrative services. 

Decent accommodation 

“People in places such as Eshilakwe and Bunyala West no longer need to come to Navakholo for security and administrative services.

We have also installed solar lights in all chiefs’ offices,” says Navakholo NG-CDF Chairman, Kennedy Ngao Barasa.

He says easy accessibility to government administration offices has made it easy for people to solve conflicts out of court with the chiefs acting as intermediaries.  

Since 2011, the government has made efforts to provide decent accommodation, to police officers.

In 2011 the National Police Service Commission and the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) were established in line with the new Constitution to reform the force after it was alleged to have been involved in the 2007/08 violence.

In a 2016 report, IPOA recommended the construction of houses for over 63,000 police officers living in deplorable conditions with the pilot phase comprising 1,850 units.

However, the ambitious plan was abandoned in 2018 and replaced with one that involves paying housing allowance to the officers so that they can get own accommodation near where they work.

In December, police officers living in police lines were evicted from the premises to find their own accommodation now that they are paid housing allowance. 

Analysts say both the now abandoned police housing scheme and the plan to allow officers to seek accommodation among civilians is welcome upgrade from the dilapidated tin structures in police lines.

Despite the efforts by the NG-CDF and other players to refurbish and build new offices for police officers there is still much to be done to accord decent housing to security officers across the country.