Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced the progress on the plans to establish a Nairobi Metropolitan Police Unit aimed at enhancing security and tackling emerging crime threats.

Murkomen said the government is moving to create the specialised unit in response to the increasingly complex security challenges facing Nairobi City.

Speaking on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, after a meeting with New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch in the United States, the CS said Kenya is seeking to learn from some of the world’s most effective metropolitan police services as it prepares to operationalise the new unit.

“Today, I held a meeting with Ms Jessica Tisch, the Police Commissioner of the New York Police Department. The meeting explored an MoU between the NPS and New York Police Department on the establishment of the Nairobi Metropolitan Police Unit, among other deliberations.”

“As one of Africa’s fastest growing metropolitan centres, Nairobi has in recent years faced evolving and increasingly complex security threats,” Murkomen said.

Kenya’s benchmarking

The Interior CS revealed that discussions with the NYPD explored a possible Memorandum of Understanding between the National Police Service and the NYPD to support the establishment of the new unit.

According to Murkomen, Kenya is benchmarking on intelligence-led policing, community-oriented policing, technology integration, specialised urban operations, emergency response coordination and crime prevention strategies.

“In our benchmarking visit, we are seeking insights into intelligence-led and community-oriented policing, technology integration, specialised urban operations, emergency response coordination, and crime prevention strategies, among other areas of interest,” Murkomen said.

Progress of the unit

In a statement on his X account on Friday, April 10, 2026, Murkomen said he had already engaged the team responsible for driving the initiative forward, noting the government’s focus on meeting the set deadline.

“As per the directive of President William Ruto and the cooperation agreement between the national government and the Nairobi City County government, we are committed to establishing the Nairobi Metropolitan Police Unit by May 1,” Murkomen said.

The CS said the session reviewed progress on the formation and operationalisation of the unit, which is expected to enhance security management in the capital.

He explained that the proposed unit is specifically designed to address the unique security demands of a densely populated urban center like Nairobi, where rapid growth continues to strain existing policing structures.