Murkomen unveils plans for the Nairobi Metropolitan Police Unit
By Kenneth Mwenda, February 18, 2026Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has unveiled plans for a new Nairobi Metropolitan Police Unit (NMPU), describing it as a model Kenya has never seen before. He spoke during a press briefing in Nakuru on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, and said the unit will start in Nairobi before expanding to other cities.
Murkomen said the NMPU comes from a cooperation agreement between the Nairobi County Government and the national government. President William Ruto and Governor Johnson Sakaja signed the deal on February 17, 2026 at State House. Ruto gave Murkomen 60 days to present a full operational plan.
Murkomen said his team studied policing models in major cities around the world. He said they relied on research and documented success stories to shape the new unit.
“What we will do in Nairobi will become the prototype that we will apply in all the other four cities in the country and other upcoming urban areas,” Murkomen said.
“We are going to work on a very serious paper that looks at comparative analysis and studys of what has happened in other countries. Thankfully, there are other researches that have been done before. We are going to just review.”
The government plans to involve Nairobi’s business community in the new security system. Murkomen said officials will install new CCTV cameras in business centres and residential areas. He added that private systems will link directly with police systems.
‘We want to ensure that their CCTV systems are interoperable with the police one so that it is quick to carry out investigations when we have issues,” he said.
The government will also upgrade Nairobi’s surveillance network from NC3 to NC4 to improve data processing and analysis. Murkomen said Artificial Intelligence will help officers detect crime patterns and plan targeted responses. He argued that urban policing presents unique challenges and that the NMPU will provide specialised solutions.
“Remember, we are also working on revamping the cameras that have been installed in Nairobi city. We are moving it from NC3 to NC4. So that we expand the capabilities of those cameras, the analysis, and input AI systems that can do a lot of analysis and tell us which side of the city has which kind of crime, so that we can have a scientific way of intervening.”
Once the Nairobi model proves effective, the government plans to roll it out to Kisumu, Mombasa, Eldoret and Nakuru, before extending it to other growing urban centres.
President Ruto defended the agreement and dismissed claims that the national government is taking over county functions.
“Let me repeat, there is no transfer of functions happening. For the avoidance of doubt, I have no interest in running the city of Nairobi. My hands are full. The governor and his team must run the city of Nairobi,” Ruto said.
Nairobi deal faces backlash
He described the pact as national support for the capital, given Nairobi’s role as Kenya’s political and economic centre. He pointed to the Nairobi River restoration project as an example of successful cooperation, saying it has created jobs for more than 45,000 young people. He also invited Sakaja to inspect ongoing county projects as a sign of partnership.
Governor Sakaja said the agreement relies on Section 6 of the Urban Areas and Cities Act. He argued that Nairobi hosts diplomatic missions, acts as a regional business hub and houses United Nations headquarters, yet its funding does not match its population of about seven million people.
The agreement establishes a steering committee chaired by the Prime Cabinet Secretary, with Sakaja serving as deputy chair. An implementation committee led by the governor will manage daily operations.
Sakaja said the deal differs from the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services, which he said left behind Ksh16 billion in pending bills and weakened devolution.
“This is not a transfer but a collaboration which is encouraged,” he said.
However, the agreement has drawn sharp criticism from Embakasi East MP Babu Owino. Speaking on February 18, 2026, Owino called the deal the biggest assault on devolution and accused the national government of staging a hostile takeover.
“Yesterday we did see the signing and the transfer, which we describe as hostile, of certain key functions of the County Government to the National Government. This process was illegally done in the first place and we are being informed that public participation is supposed to be done after the signing of this agreement. This is completely unconstitutional and unlawful,” Owino said.
Owino blamed Sakaja for failing Nairobi residents. He said voters expected better roads, drainage, clean streets, water, jobs and health services.
“Nairobians trusted the wrong person, gave power, gave responsibility to a person who was not qualified for the job, that is Governor Sakaja. He’s become a disappointment,” Owino said.